Sex-swap madam makes legal history

A sex-change Soho madam made legal history today when a judge decided to treat her as a woman to protect her human rights.

Vanessa Wadman, who " surgically stopped" being a man 11 years ago, was arrested during a night-time police raid on the Masters Club where "obligatory" bottles of champagne retailed at up to £350 a time.

Like her colleagues in the heart of London's red light district, undercover officers posing as prospective clients never doubted she was a woman until they checked their records back at the station.

As a result, they charged her with six counts of living off immoral earnings - offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 levelled solely at men. Southwark Crown Court heard the 34-year-old subsequently pleaded not guilty.

But following legal submissions backed by the Crown Prosecution Service and the defence and a hint that new pleas could be forthcoming, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC amended the indictment to recognise her new "gender identity". This, he said, was in "accordance with the justice and humanity of the case".

As a result, Wadman, of Breakspeare Road, Brockley, wearing lipstick and a green cotton dress, admitted six new counts of controlling prostitution - charges that until now have been preferred against defendants born as women.

The brunette was later sentenced to a 12-month community rehabilitation order.