by JAMIE WELHAM and ANNA CHAMBERS

Judge rejects police plea to close two ‘walk up’ brothels
 

Sex workers and campaigners welcome decision as ‘important progress’

THERE were whoops and high fives from the dozens of prostitutes and maids crammed into the public gallery at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court as Judge Harold Riddle delivered his decision to keep the two “walk up” flats at 61 Dean Street open for business.
Judge Riddle said he could not approve the closure because police evidence that the flats were a haven for drug dealers, touts and thieves was insufficient.
“I am not satisfied that any person has engaged in anti-social behaviour on this premises,” he ruled on Wednesday morning.
The closure order was brought by police against a maid and prostitute at the address – Arlene Ravi and Debbie Newman – under new powers that allow authorities to shut down properties deemed to be a source of anti-social behaviour.
But campaigners feared the move would pave the way for a purge of similar “walk-ups” across Soho, forcing girls onto the street to ply their trade in dangerous conditions.
Representing the police, Sergeant Dean Else told the court that a man had his wrist slit outside the flats, and that the open stairwell was a known hang-out for drug dealers and “clippers”.
This was dismissed as “third-hand” hearsay by the judge but was admitted as evidence under the new “crack house” legislation.
Sgt Else said: “This is not about persecuting [the women] because they are prostitutes.
“The flats have been a persistent cause of anti-social behaviour and focal point for touts and drug dealers.”
A number of members of the Soho community, including the parish priest Reverend David Gilmore and two of the maids who worked at the flat, testified that anti-social behaviour was “a Soho problem” and could not be pinpointed to 61 Dean Street.
He said: “I live five doors away from the brothel. I have seen drug dealing going on opposite the rectory but I have never seen drug dealing going on outside [the brothel].
“Soho has a problem with drug dealing, given the nature of the area.”
Two maids who look after the prostitutes – one of whom had worked in the flats for 12 years – told the court they had never seen any crime because the stairs were comprehensively monitored by CCTV and fitted with a tannoy used to warn troublesome visitors.