Brothels could be made legal

Brothels may be legalised under a sweeping overhaul of the laws on prostitution, it emerged today.

The taboo-breaking move is being considered by Home Secretary David Blunkett as a way of cleaning up the sex trade.

His aim is to clear prostitutes off the streets to reduce public nuisance and break links with organised crime and drugs.

Licensed brothels are seen by some police chiefs and campaigners as a way of cutting down on kerb-crawlers in residential areas.

The move could also be used to bring in routine health checks and safer conditions.

The full scope of the review has yet to be decided but a Home Office spokesman confirmed that nothing was being ruled out. "We think the time is right for sensible debate on the issues arising from prostitution, which are numerous and complex," said the spokesman.

"We are continuing to address the issues. We want to do a thorough job as this is the first discussion of these for 50 years."

The terms of the review - the first overhaul since 1954 - will be announced within weeks.

Prostitution is not illegal but there are more than 35 offences governing the trade, such as making it illegal to "live off unlawful earnings".

Critics say the law is responsible for driving women onto the streets and into the hands of pimps and drug-pushers.

There is growing pressure from police chiefs for "zones of toleration" where prostitutes could work in a safer environment monitored by health officials.

However, an experimental scheme in Edinburgh was recently abandoned.

Legalised brothels would be certain to cause storms in local areas where prostitutes decided to open up. Mr Blunkett's top priority is to remove organised criminals from prostitution, which is blamed for encouraging crack cocaine and heroin abuse among women and their clients. He will also look at a heavy crackdown on pimping, kerb-crawling and soliciting.

Police believe the current laws are impossible to enforce while courts say the same prostitutes appear repeatedly because fines are an inadequate deterrent.