“Paying for sex with prostitutes who are controlled by pimps is set to become a criminal offence in England and Wales, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said. Anyone who knowingly pays illegally trafficked women for sex could face rape charges, while kerb crawlers could face prosecution for a first offence. Pleading ignorance of the circumstances under which a prostitute is working will not count as a defence”.

It’s an obvious question, but how is the customer of the prostitute supposed to know whether they’re being pimped or have been trafficked into the country or not? Ask to see their tax return? Sign an affidavit or give a receipt afterwards?

More to the point, if the police know any given prostitute is in that criteria (to the extent they could prosecute the customer), oughtn’t they be taking action against the known pimps & traffickers themselves?