Sex between consenting adults in this country should be entirely a matter of individual freedom of choice, irrespective of whether payment or any other token of appreciation is involved, and certainly not a matter for unwarranted interference from the nanny state.
As regards the trafficking issue, if the authorities in Eastern European countries cannot stop their teenage girls being kidnapped by the thousand and exported like cattle, then the fault emphatically lies there and not in the UK at all. Those countries are now also members of the EU, so what are the EU fat cats in Brussels doing about it apart from pontificating in their ivory towers?
I see no reason at all why we in the UK should abandon rights and freedoms which have existed in this country for centuries just because the authorities in other countries cannot do their job properly. Attempting to supress the whole industry, most of which is entirely legitimate and consensual, would violate civil rights and achieve nothing.

Dave, Southampton, UK

- Forgot to mention the dangerous dogs, Olympic terrorists, benefit fraudsters, gypsy sites and the rest. Good luck!

T. Martin, Bromley, England

Hasn't China done something similar with Google and Yahoo?

John Lee, Just about Everywhere, England

Well as they all claim the main problem is the illegally trafficed girls why not just concentrate on them and those who bring them here and those who exploit them whilst here and leave those of us born and bred here to get on with our business.

barry, preston, lancs

Here in Australia, the brothels are licensed and pay taxes and the workers have to have regular health checks. Seems to work well....

Chris, Melbourne, Australia

Is this the same police force who will break up illegal foxhunting, enforce the constantly changing drugs legislation, fill out all all the forms, expel the illegal immigrants, pursue the errant motorists, etc etc. What a joke. Lets see what the coming economic slump brings.

T. Martin, Bromley, England

In an age when it's easy to get a new mobile phone number, this nonsense won't work, beyond causing a bit of inconvenience. Moreover, the 'antis' position is now becoming confused--- at one level they are saying 'criminalise the client, not the prostitute'; at the other 'cut off the girls' phones'. If prostitution is legal isn't cutting off the girl's phone 'restraint of trade'?

As a sometime client, let me assure Ms Harman et al. that the world portrayed in Belle de Jour does exist out there. Many girls are in this business by choice.

I doubt however that the 'antis' have any ear for arguments based on liberty. Perhaps however they should consider whether they wish to create a blackmailers charter and what they will do about the call-girl/boy-using MPs who'll doubtless be exposed with greater relish than before by the tabloid. Do they really want to cull their own lobby fodder? Will the turkeys vote for Xmas?

David, London, UK

How about legalising brothels, licensing and taxing instead?
Any brothel employing minors and trafficked or coerced women
would lose its license, and the owners should be jailed. Driving the trade underground doesn't help the women, but puts them in more danger.

VBS, London,

Phone SEX is big business for the phone companies.

Jane Fleming, Peterborough, UK

If they can't advertise, they can't get business. Seems like a good idea to me. Men are lazy, they won't bother chasing this business if it becomes less available.

Bob Travels -- Only a man could say, "What is the problem?" Let's not call this business prostitution and call it what it actually is.....abuse. There are too many excuses made by men, mainly, "It's the the oldest profession in the world". It would also be the most unnecessary if society weren't dominate by hormone driven, discriminatory men.

judy, Liverpool, England

While ministers quietly make use of the expenses loopholes that parliament provides they are hardly in a position to hand out advice on the morals of others.

Simon Marshland, Bath, Somerset

What is the problem? The oldest profession, a tourist attraction in Amsterdam.

Finally acknowledge that since Adam and Eve lost their innocence prostitution has been a fact of life. It is impossible to stop, so finally legalise it, tax the profits and stop treating it like a sordid nasty crime.

There is a huge demand for these services, so allow inconspicuous legal brothels in industrial areas, and let adults get up to what they want to do without being considered criminals.

Bob Travels, Stevenage,