Former BBC Focus on Africa editor Robin White gives his impressions of a country divided by language and culture.

Cameroon is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Its politics are less pretty.

Elections are scheduled for this year, but few Cameroonians hold out much hope that the voting will be either free or fair, or even worth taking part in at all.

The electoral commission is ridiculed as a rubber stamp for the ruling party, and the electoral roll is widely perceived as fictitious.

Everyone assumes that, unless something very unexpected happens, the 70-year-old president, Paul Biya, will be back for yet another term of office.

Looking back

If ever there was a country that is a victim of its colonial past, it is Cameroon. First the Germans were there. Then, in 1916, the French and British carved it up between them - four-fifths went to France, the rest to the UK.

And so was born a cultural and language divide, which despite federation in 1961 and union in 1972 is still alive today.

The biggest threat to President Biya and his Cameroon National Democratic Movement in previous elections was John Fru Ndi, leader of the Social Democratic Front (SDF).

From his office in downtown English-speaking Bamenda, he says he would rather the elections were postponed altogether than see them take place under the present dispensation.

He claims that if there is yet another rigged election, people will be so angry there could be war. He’s careful to add that he will not start it.

The war, he says, would be a spontaneous conflagration, born out of the anger of frustrated Cameroonians.

‘Betrayed’

Much more warlike than Mr Fru Ndi is the Southern Cameroon National Council, a motley group of malcontents who are currently the political sensation.

They too are based in Bamenda, and they want Cameroon, as it is currently constituted, to disappear altogether.

Chief Otung wants independence for English-speaking Cameroon

They argue that the union of Anglophones and Francophones has been an utter failure and they want to reconstitute a separate English-speaking Southern Cameroon.

The SCNC, led by Chief Ayamba Ette Otung, argue that the world, especially the UK, has betrayed them and they’re calling on the big powers and the United Nations to give them their nation back.

Actually most Anglophones do not want independence. They might hate the union, and they might hate Paul Biya and his ruling party, but what they really want is more autonomy and more development.

Cameroon as a whole is hardly flourishing, but Anglophone Cameroon is totally malnourished.

There is little development, not much investment and the roads are shocking.

The questions is: how to get development and greater democracy without going to war?

The SCNC tactic of demonstrations and occasional occupation of local radio stations has brought them occasional imprisonment, plenty of publicity and not much else.

Other Anglophone politicians, even those who hate the government, dislike the SCNC even more for stealing their limelight.

Part-time leader

And that’s the trouble with the Cameroonian opposition, they can’t agree on anything, except that they don’t like Mr Biya and want him to go.

They can’t agree about policies and they certainly can’t, for the moment, agree on a common candidate to oppose the president.

The chiefs ensure rural areas back the president

Paul Biya is not a tyrannical man. The press is free, private radio stations flourish, there are scarcely any political prisoners. In fact, the president is hardly visible. He lives in a splendid palace in Yaounde, and rarely goes out.

He is occasionally seen at airports around the world conducting government business and maybe other business too.

But the ordinary Cameroonian knows practically nothing about him. His cabinet has hardly seen him either.

The story is that he has only held two cabinet meetings in the past five years, and some of his more recent ministerial appointments have never met him at all.

The business of government seems to be left to a few key henchmen: the finance minister, the defence minister, the education minister, the interior minister.

There are plenty of Anglophones in government but none of them hold the really important posts.

President’s men

The army, too, is headed by Mr Biya’s handpicked men, mostly from his own Bete ethnic group. If you are not Bete, and not Francophone, you tend not to catch the president’s eye.

Biya is not a tyrant - but he’s not ready to step down

So how does Mr Biya keep a lid on discontent?

He has the police and gendarmerie. They are everywhere, particularly on Cameroon’s potholed streets and highways.

They are forever stopping the traffic and demanding bribes in return for turning a blind eye to bald tires, dodgy brakes and lack of driving licenses and insurance.

The other way Mr Biya keeps control is through the Fons (local chiefs) who still exercise considerable influence, particularly in rural areas.

They consider it their job to support the government and explain government’s policies to the people.

They are Biya’s boys, and if they quarrel too much with the government they may discover that they do not have a divine right to rule after all.

By pleasing Mr Biya, they can also ensure that the small amount of development money there is in the till, will come their way.

Turbulent priest

Mr Biya’s most formidable opponent is a Catholic priest; in fact Cameroon’s top religious leader.

Cardinal Christian Tumi uses his pulpit, his newspaper and his considerable influence all over Cameroon, to denounce, hector and pray for Mr Biya to go.

French-speaking areas, such as Yaounde, are more developed

He would like to open his own private radio station, too, but the government won’t give him a licence. The ruling party fears Cardinal Tumi, and they fear a radio station run by him.

At his modest office in Douala next to the Cathedral, the soft-voiced cardinal says that the government has nothing to fear from him - they should rather fear the Cameroonian people who are fed up with misrule, rigged elections and corruption.

Many would like Cardinal Tumi to stand against Mr Biya in presidential elections.

Opposition parties have apparently approached him. He says he will not stand, although there’s nothing in his job description to forbid him.

He thinks he’s much more effective preaching from the sidelines.

He might not contest the elections, but he will surely be a big influence. He enjoys the limelight, and he enjoys politics.

He chooses his words carefully but he clearly sees it as his divine religious duty to bring democracy and transparency to Cameroon.

The Catholic Church, itself, is hardly democratic, but with God behind you, that makes you very powerful in a very religious and very Catholic country.

The final programmes in the White In Africa series can be heard on 8 and 15 January at 09:06GMT on the BBC World Service.

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The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the east London shooting, was set up to replace the Police Complaints Authority.

That body had been criticised for allowing police to check allegations about one another. The integrity and accountability of such investigations was questioned.

The 1993 Macpherson Inquiry into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and Lord Scarman’s inquiry into the Brixton riots both recommended the establishment of an independent body to investigate police complaints.

Menezes probe

The IPCC, which was created under the Police Reform Act in 2002, has 100 investigators to look into claims of police misconduct and deaths in custody.

It looks at serious incidents involving death or serious injury, and allegations including those of serious or organised corruption, racism or perverting the course of justice.

It investigated the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by police at Stockwell Tube station, the day after the failed 21 July bombings.

While many of its first senior investigators did have a police background, others had experience in banking, insurance and social work.

According to its website, the IPCC’s 17 regional commissioners “guarantee its independence and by law can never have served as police officers”.

‘Cut delays’

The IPCC had a budget of 23m in its first year (2004/5) and 29.1m its second (2005/6). It has begun work on 83 independent and 314 managed investigations into the most serious complaints.

In 2004/5 it upheld 239 public appeals - out of 768 considered to be valid - about the way complaints were dealt with by local police.

At the end of an investigation commissioners can decide whether it should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. The file will also go to the coroner’s office.

IPCC chairman Nick Hardwick, former head of the Refugee Council, said: “We aim to increase confidence in the police complaints system by transforming the way forces handle complaints from the public.”

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It’s time for Gordon Brown’s seventh pre-Budget report.

It’s the long-serving Chancellor’s seventeenth big set-piece statement since he took office in 1997, including all his budgets and spending statements.

So what will the Chancellor choose to talk about this time?

Well, I don’t know if he can sing but if he was into musicals, he might want to take the famous refrain from Annie:

Tomorrow, tomorrow,
I love ya, tomorrow
You’re only a day away

Why? Because the big issue for the pre-Budget report is whether taxes need to go up soon.

And it is an issue the Chancellor will probably defer until tomorrow.

Or - more precisely - until after the election.

Taxing issues

With tax revenues coming in short this year, the Chancellor could really do with a few extra billion pounds in his pocket.

This would be a good opportunity to warn us that he’ll be coming after us next year.

It would also alert his cabinet colleagues to the government’s precarious financial position ahead of the forthcoming three-year spending review due in the summer of 2004.

Why will the Chancellor probably delay acting?

In general, the sooner you patch up the hole, the better.

Delay

But for Mr Brown, it is not that simple.

The public finances are shrouded in uncertainty.

Things might turn out all right - and it would be a shame to act prematurely, if the tax rise was subsequently deemed unnecessary.

As the song says:

The sun’ll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There’ll be sun

Even if the sun doesn’t shine tomorrow, the Chancellor has been stressing that - unlike his European counterparts - he made tough decisions during the economic upturn of the late 1990s, which gave plenty of room to sit back in the downturn.

Why would he risk hurting the economy with a tax hike, just at the wrong time of the economic cycle?

As the song says:

When I’m stuck a day
That’s grey
And lonely
I just stick out my chin
And grin

Stick your chin out and grin, Chancellor?

Maybe that’s the best course for now.

Distractions

Given that the public finances don’t look that good, and given that Mr Brown seems willing to delay any action to improve them, he will probably not want to dwell on the subject that much.

What else is there to talk about?

His preferred topic will undoubtedly be the economy.

At the time of the budget, he forecast growth of about 2% this year, and better than 3% next year.

It looked rather optimistic then, but it looks more realistic now.

Mr Brown will not be shy in pointing that out.

Hot topics

Then there is HICP (’hiccup”), the harmonised index of consumer prices, the measure of inflation they use on the Continent.

Mr Brown will tell the Bank of England to target inflation measured that way, rather than the RPIX version we use in the UK at the moment.

And the biggest issue of all?

That could be housing.

The Chancellor has timed the publication of two interim independent reviews into our housing market for the days around the pre-Budget report.

One looks at mortgages (should we have more long term fixed-rate mortgages?) and the other looks at the supply of housing (why don’t developers build more houses when prices are high?).

Both will provide a rich mix of topics to absorb us.

But because the real decisions on the public finances are likely to be postponed, and because it is not possible to accuse the Chancellor of reckless abandon in delaying tax rises, this pre-Budget report may be a little less of an event than it could have been.

After all, the niceties of HICP and of housing supply are less newsworthy than big cash injections to the NHS, or increases in National Insurance taxes.

Fortunately, the Chancellor usually likes to drop the odd surprise into his speeches - and there’s no reason to think Wednesday will be any exception.

Read http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3295401.stm
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Unions claim they feel like “Alice in Wonderland” in trying to argue the case against putting CalMac’s west coast ferry services out to tender.

Tom Kennedy, of the Transport and Salaried Staffs Association, made the claim while giving evidence to MSPs.

He said the government had got things wrong and there was no EU requirement to put services out to tender.

He and four other trade union witnesses claimed the tendering process could hit jobs and services.

The union representatives appeared before the Local Government and Transport Committee on Tuesday, where they won a sympathetic hearing from its members.

Exemption failure

Mr Kennedy told them if there was a requirement to put CalMac’s lifeline island ferry services up for grabs then the previous Tory government had failed to seek an exemption.

He said: “In that sense, we are in rather an Alice in Wonderland situation when we are trying to argue against regulations which should never have been applied in the first place.

“The approach adopted by the Scottish Executive has been to start off on the wrong foot, to look entirely in the wrong areas and not to consider that these are lifeline services.”

The unions argued there was nothing in the regulations that required the executive to put the services out to tender.

They said any savings could only be made at the expense of the terms and conditions of ferry jobs and that if a new operator decided to base itself offshore, there could be big losses to the Treasury in national insurance contributions and taxes.

Community impact

T&G shop steward John Docherty told the committee he knew of one village of 100 people, of which at least 10 were CalMac employees.

He said: “If there were 10 job losses, through bringing in foreign seamen, or whatever, that would have a huge impact on that community.”

Mr Kennedy added: “Our members would not thank us for scaremongering - they expect us to be down-the-middle with them and give a realistic assessment of what’s happening.

“And when my shore-based members look me in the eye and ask what will happen to their jobs with the tendering process, I’m afraid that the best answer I can give them is ‘Wait and see - but you have to be extremely concerned about your future’.”

The Scottish TUC, one of the union organisations giving evidence, said a report by Glasgow University had raised several concerns, including value for money for taxpayers, a threat to jobs, conditions and pensions of CalMac employees and the risk of poorer services, if the “unnecessary” tendering exercise went ahead.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has already announced it plans to ballot its members on industrial action.

The Scottish Parliament rejected plans for competitive tendering in December but the executive says European rules require it to allow private firms to bid against state-owned CalMac for operating the routes.

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Science Daily — Like an episode of “CSI: Computers,” a UF researcher has developed a technique that gives digital detectives twice the forensic evidence they now have to catch all kinds of hackers, from curious teenagers to disgruntled employees to agents of foreign governments.

Writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Digital Evidence, UF doctoral student Mark Foster proposes a new and improved method of computer crime solving, called “process forensics.”

“If a guy walks into a bank and robs it, leaving footprints behind or his fingerprints on the counter, the forensic analyst would come in and find those traces of what happened,” said Foster. In the same way, process forensics merges two existing types of digital evidence intrusion-detection and checkpointing technology to give an investigator the most possible information to crack a case, said Foster, a computer science and engineering student conducting the research for his dissertation with UF professor of computer science Joseph Wilson, who co-wrote the paper.

“If you detect the intruder or even if you’re just suspicious that an intruder’s around you start creating checkpoints,” Foster said. “And then later, those checkpoints will serve to give us some forensics.”

Checkpoints are essentially periodic snapshots of a running computer program, or process. Programmers use them as a safety backup if the power goes out while a program is still running, they can return to the most recent checkpoint rather than starting over from the beginning.

Many current programs don’t have built-in checkpointing technology, creating more work for programmers, Foster said. So he developed a technique that automatically creates checkpoints within a program. After working separately on computer security and intrusion-detection software, he realized that combining checkpoints with intrusion detection would create an efficient forensics tool, he said.

“If the photographs are taken at the right times, then we can see how they got in, what was tampered with,” Foster said.

Foster targets intruders who want to break into systems that are host-based or centrally located in one primary computer, which is then linked to numerous satellite workstations.

“You can have a scenario where user Bob he’s malicious, he’s tired of class, and he wants to try to mess with everybody. In a multiuser environment, you’ve got to have boundaries set up and once you have those, somebody wants to come along and get through them.”

One way for an evil-minded hacker to break into a host-based computer system is to sneak in through a “hole,” a flaw in a running program the hacker can exploit to take control of the program, run his own programs or generally gum up the works, Foster said. This type of attack is called a buffer overflow attack, he said.

Current intrusion-detection software helps an investigator find out if someone has broken into a system, identifies the intruder and prevents future attacks. However, the software first has to learn the computer system well enough to detect anything out of the ordinary, such as unexpected changes to files and suspicious programs. Detection also can require more steps, such as additional software, modification of current software or preparing a program ahead of time for monitoring.

Foster’s process-forensics method also includes an intrusion-detection system that improves on current software by streamlining detection and eliminating the training phase.

“This is definitely an area that is up-and-coming in forensics,” said John Leeson, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Central Florida and an editor of the International Journal of Digital Evidence. “I like the fact that he’s taking a proactive approach forensics for years has been a reactive field.

“The idea is that you kind of need to know when something is happening before you start collecting information, or it’ll be a lot of useless information,” Leeson said. “Mark’s proposing a tool that could be activated by an automatic intrusion-detection system. I think that’s going to definitely enhance the value of digital forensics, to be able to deal with incidents as they are occurring.”

Computer forensics is a broad field. “A lot of times it’s recovering deleted files or looking for hidden files,” Foster said. “You have a child stalker who’s on the Internet stalking children, and they track him down, they confiscate his computer, and they say to the forensic guy, ‘What kind of evidence can you get from his computer?’”

Foster said his method targets a different kind of computer abuse intruders who want to hijack a running program.

“This is definitely kind of a different angle than the traditional stuff,” he said.

Note: This story has been adapted from material provided by University Of Florida. Read more…

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Fraud and official errors in pension and benefit payments totalled 53m in Northern Ireland last year, according to a report.

The report by the National Audit Office revealed that in just two years, losses through error and fraud had doubled, despite a series of counter-measures introduced by the government.

The Department for Social Development is responsible for administering the money which it gets from National Insurance contributions.

Most of the money was lost from retirement pensions and bereavement benefit.

An estimated 39.3m was overpaid in retirement pensions and bereavement
benefits to people who did not qualify for the cash in 2002/03, compared to 7.9m in 2000/01.

The head of the National Audit Office, Sir John Bourn, said that as part of the next audit he will also examine the measures brought in to try and combat fraud and error.

Sir John said: “I have qualified this account because of high
levels of estimated fraud and official error in the payment of benefits from
the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund.

“I note the measures being taken by the department to reduce fraud and error
and will review progress as part of the my audit of the 2003/04 account to see
whether the desired outcomes are being achieved.”

Strategy introduced

The figures revealed that including
Incapacity Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance, the total losses due to fraud and
error for the year were 53.2m - more than 20m up on the previous year.

This represents 4% of the total expenditure on benefits of 1,457m.

Incapacity Benefit accounted for 12.6m of the overpayment while Jobseeker’s
Allowance was just 0.1m.

The Department of Social Development introduced a strategy to prevent fraud
and error in 2000/01.

The plan included measures to improve detection of fraud and sanctions imposed
on deliberate offenders.

An internal review carried out two years later, confirmed that the Social
Security Agency was not always applying it effectively.

The NAO report also revealed the levels of underpayment in benefits for the
year 2002/03.

There was a total of 1.8m underpayment in Retirement Pension and Bereavement
Benefit and 3.7m in Incapacity Benefit.

A statement from the department confirmed the Social Security agency was reviewing its processes.

It said the agency had already improved its ability to identify inaccuracies in the system and improvements were also being made to its systems,
procedures and training as part of a major modernisation programme.

The statement added: “While the 53m stated by the National Audit Office is a very significant figure, it should also be noted that the overall accuracy
for processing the benefits referred to in the report is around 96%.”

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Belgian legislators are hoping to bring that to a close with a parliamentary bill that would draw prostitutes into the legal fold and bring the industry under state control, providing sex workers with labour rights and greater health protection.

But for a fee.

The sex workers themselves would be expected to pay up when the tax man calls - boosting state coffers to the tune of an estimated 50 million euros a year.

It represents an attractive option for a country currently struggling to balance its budget deficit - a means of generating money while affording prostitutes better protection.

The fact is, sex is a good source of revenue, as the underworld has long known. The industry is incredibly lucrative, given the consistent nature of demand for the services of the world’s oldest profession.

At the moment it looks like all the government cares about is getting their hands on sex workers’ money Marion Detlefs Hydra, Berlin

In Thailand, for example - where both sex workers and some policy advisers have been pushing for legalisation and taxation - the sex industry is thought to account for at least several percent of the nation’s GDP.

In Britain, it is estimated that some 770m ($1.2bn) is spent on prostitution every year, more than on cinemas or many other forms of entertainment.

Those who can tap it, do. The US state of Nevada, where prostitution is legal, hopes to pick up millions of dollars over the next two years from houses of prostitution.

But for most it remains untouchable capital, beyond the reach of politicians needing cash injections for ailing health services, welfare systems and other popular expenditures.

Legalisation is often the only way to tap into this source of wealth while offering prostitutes better working conditions, a route both Germany and the Netherlands have embarked on in recent years.

Prostitutes in Germany, believed to number around 400,000, have for the past year been able to take part in a scheme that offers social benefits like pensions, health insurance and a 40-hour week in sanitary conditions, in exchange for a slice of their earnings.

It’s a slow process, but I do think it’s moving, and that the situation for prostitutes is improving Marieke van Doorninck Institute for Prostitution Issues

For their part, Dutch prostitutes have been asked to pay 19% VAT for similar rights since brothels were legalised nearly three years ago.

Advocates of this kind of legislation believe it is the only way to make sure sex workers enjoy adequate health and employment protection.

Opponents say it simply consolidates them in a position from which governments should be battling to remove them.

Teething problems

Finance ministries in both Germany and the Netherlands say it is impossible to calculate just how many prostitutes have registered to pay tax as forms do not ask them to name their profession.

But anecdotal evidence from prostitutes’ organisations suggests that many have, where possible, at least tried to take up the offer.

“It has, however, been very difficult,” says Marion Detlefs of the Hydra prostitute advice centre in Berlin. “When it was set up there was much talk of securing proper contracts, proper health insurance but a lot of this hasn’t materialised because of big holes in the legislation.

“At the moment it looks like all the government cares about is getting their hands on sex workers’ money - women who are already hard-up are giving their earnings away and getting very little return.”

Despite the problems of these fledgling laws, European groups lobbying for better conditions for prostitutes believe they are at least a step in the right direction.

“But it has to be a matter of mutual benefit,” says Marieke van Doorninck of the Institute for Prostitution Issues. “Governments have to offer real labour rights and protection in exchange.”

“It’s a slow process, but I do think it’s moving, and that the situation for prostitutes is improving. People’s attitudes are also starting to soften.”

Ms van Doorninck says that while money provides one impetus for governments to legalise prostitution, the other issue is bringing the industry under state control to regulate its expansion.

In the Netherlands, legalisation has not led to the expansion of the industry, as predicted by some, but in fact to the closure of a number of brothels which are unable to comply with the restrictions and the bureaucracy involved with gaining legal status.

But under the Dutch law, only Dutch citizens and those from the European Union are allowed to work as prostitutes in brothels, which many believe will have pushed illegal migrant sex workers onto the streets.

While their earnings may be safe from the tax man, neither they nor their cash enjoy much protection from underworld bosses.

Should prostitution be legalised and governments use its revenue? Or should more be done to stamp the profession out?

---

Your reaction

Three words described legalized prostitution –”Opening Pandora’s Box”. I’ve got children who could eventually work in brothels and the streets if they cannot meet their financial needs in the future. Nothing can compare to the evil legalised prostitution will bring to your country and to the world at large. God Bless!)
Jozcat, Phils.

It is estimated that two thirds of those working in the brothels in the Netherlands are from outside the EU Anna, UK

We are speaking as those from developed countries where the choice of whether to work in the prostitution trade is often a lot easier. Would any mother or father really want their daughter to work in the trade? What about those forced into the trade and trafficked from the developing world? Women from countries in the EU do not want to work as prostitutes so the women have to be imported from countries where the economic situation is so bad the women have no choice. It is estimated that two thirds of those working in the brothels in the Netherlands are from outside the EU. Once again an example of a developed country exploiting the poverty and desperation of those in the developing world. But hey - Belgium will get richer out of the taxes so let’s concentrate on that!
Anna, UK

Having heard too many horror stories about the conditions of prostitute’s lives, I can’t help feeling that legalization and a strong support structure is vital - but perhaps in combination with a clampdown on illegal prostitution (ie pimps and clients, not persecution of prostitutes). Currently the half-tolerated but illegal position of prostitution benefits nobody except unscrupulous criminals.
Paul, Czech Rep

Prostitution is a fact of life and is a service which if regulated would hurt nobody. At the moment, a blind eye is turned on massage parlours and conditions are poor. Admission of prostitution and incorporation of it into the service sector could improve conditions and free resources to move prostitutes from the streets which is a cause of concern for local communities and in view of the safety aspects of the girls.
Phillip, UK

I went to Amsterdam recently on holiday with friends. To my surprise, the Red Light District is so damn well organised. More importantly, people are friendly (as you’d expect) and they all get on. The place is clean, people dont fight, and the girls are making more money than most people. Fact is, if people are willing to work as Prostitutes, let them but tax them and make it legal in certain places. Keep the area under constant monitoring and let the government make more money!!!!

Fais,
England

Like drugs, gambling and pot noodle, prostitution is something that appeals to human instincts Gavin, Wales

Like drugs, gambling and pot noodle, prostitution is something that appeals to human instincts. It’ll happen regardless of whether it is legal or not. Legalising it should make it safer for all parties and take some of the seediness out of it.
Gavin, Wales

Thou Shalt NOT commit Adultery.
Its SIN to commit Adultery.
God will punish those who commit Adultery and those who legalised Adultery.
Gurkha Rai, Sydney, Australia

Agriculture is the oldest profession, not prostitution!


Alec Weir,
UK

Surely the safety of the girls should be the prevailing factor rather than the cash that could be generated. It is shocking that prostitutes are treated as 2nd class citizens because it upsets the principles of a few middle class bores. Prostitution is not an occupation which is chosen but is thrust upon someone who is vulnerable and has nowhere else to turn. These people need protection from the dangers they are exposed to from their clients and their ‘pimps’. Legalisation can only be a good thing to help get these girls off the streets.
Chris, UK

As long as the woman [or man] voluntarily sells her or himself, then i don’t see why it should prohibited. What one wants to do with one’s own body is not the business of anyone else. However, if it becomes legally permissible, i definitely think that it should be taxed just like any other industry. The same applies to substances such as marijuana - let people decide to abuse their own bodies as they see fit.
Hannah, USA

Yes! Legalise it and collect the revenue. Like the drug issue it will not go away no matter how stigmatised, criminalised or politicised it becomes. Tax an inevitable source of revenue and make conditions safer for all involved.


Nik,
England

They should impose huge fines on prostitutes to stop the crime paying Giles Johnson, UK

Prostitution is a sickness of society, opposes family values, increases abortion and is often the desperate act of drug addicts to obtain cash. It should never be legalised. If the government wants to tap money from this market then they should impose huge fines on prostitutes, to stop the crime paying.
Giles Johnson, UK

Whatever our opinions of the profession, it will not go away. America tried to do away with alcohol during the prohibition period and it proved to be impossible. So if it can’t be stopped governments might as well make the best of it.

John R, UK

Prostitution is exploitation of women by criminals. Their clients are pathetic. Your description of this activity as a “profession” is a disgrace. I recommend you view the film Lilya-4-ever, a look at the day to day realities of prostitutes.
Emmet Fahy, Ireland

Making prostitution legal would benefit the whole community. You will no longer have red light districts on housing estates as areas could be designated by the police. This should help many areas which are affected by the constant cat and mouse game between the police and prostitutes. The health benefits would lead to a decline in the rate of sexual disease, as by having regular testing the disease should be treated much earlier. The prostitutes themselves would be able to work in a much safer environment leading to less assault and a lower crime rate against them.

Guy Willoughby, UK

‘We must take advantage of it and cash in’ James, Canada

Stamping our prostitution is like stamping out sex… will never happen. So governments who realise this say to themselves “If we can’t eliminate it, then we must take advantage of it and cash in.” Money is not the root of all evil… weak men are.


James,
Canada

I am originally from New Zealand and prostitution has finally been decriminalised there recently. Prior to this there was quite a percentage of prostitutes paying tax on their earnings anyway and the government seemed to have no qualms using the revenue. Prostitution should be decriminalised.
Elle, UK

All this amounts to is the governments acting as pimps and providing protection for their ’staff’ in return for a slice of their wages.
Simon, Edinburgh, UK

One of the greatest scandals of our age is trafficking women to be abused as sex objects Anthony, Germany (UK)

Yes it should be legalised, but not with the aim of simply collecting more tax revenue. One of the greatest scandals of our age is the trafficking of women to be abused as sex objects. Anything that can make it tougher for criminals to enforce their brutal exploitation of these helpless victims has to be welcomed.


Anthony,
Germany (UK)

Well, several hundred years of trying to extinguish prostitution didn’t help. I’m strongly in favour of legalisation as it would help in health and social issues. The additional benefit is that legal brothels would help in preventing trafficking as someone with a legal business would be less willing take a risk with illegal activities.
Vladan Konstantinovic, Serbia & Montenegro

Until three years ago prostitution was illegal, but accepted. The police could keep an eye on the situation (investigate criminals that forced young Eastern European girls into prostitution) and local government could develop a policy concerning prostitution (locate it in certain parts of town etc). Now it is legal, the position of legal prostitutes has improved a little. But the illegal prostitutes are much worse off. They are not visible anymore and more easily the victim of criminal groups that are active in prostitution. The aim of the legalisation was to protect prostitutes. In my opinion it has failed.


Nanne de Jong,
Netherlands

Yes it should be legalised. The government could make a huge amount of money from the industry and it would provide safer surroundings for those who work in the industry.
TDD, UK

It will always exist in every society. Therefore, the mature and responsible course of action is to bring it within the government sphere of influence. This will make it safer for both parties involved and allow the government to take a piece of the pie. The taxes could be used for schools and the NHS.


Nick,
UK

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Hundreds of jobs are to be created by the 2.8m expansion of a contact centre in Glasgow.

The move is bucking the recent trend in the industry to switch call centre work to India, where costs are lower.

RHL - which is owned by entreprenuer and Rangers FC honorary chairman David Murray - said it planned to create 450 new jobs.

The posts will be split between the existing Edmiston Road centre in Ibrox and a new centre in Clydebank.

The new jobs will bring the total workforce at RHL, which started in 1991, to more than 12,000.

Its clients include BSkyB, ScottishPower and the Student Loans Company.

The company’s executive chairman, John McLelland, said: “The jobs will range from sales to customer services.

Extension plan

“Workers will be highly skilled, which needs a good education level, they will also be articulate and flexible. We’ve found that in Glasgow and I am sure we will find it in Clydebank.

“We have grown by 45% and we expect to grow again this coming year and this announcement is part of the extension plan.”

The jobs boost is good news for the call centre industry in the face of a recent rush of firms taking advantage of the lower paid but well educated workforce overseas.

Earlier this week hundreds of British jobs were transferred to India by AXA insurance and the Abbey bank.

Where there is an opportunity to create a truly world class business in Scotland, such as RHL, we should do everything in our power to ensure we deliver it David Murray

At the same time Abbey announced that 900 Edinburgh posts would be moved to Glasgow.

Mr McLelland said the company looked at India as a possible base for its call centre.

But he added: “We found with a competitive workforce here and good financial backing from the Murray group and also support from Scottish Enterprise, Dunbartonshire, Scottish Development International and the Scottish Executive, Scotland was as competitive.

“You always recognise competition whether nation or international, we have to keep comparing and benchmarking ourselves, nevertheless we hope to continue expanding in Scotland.”

Mr Murray said: “It is clear to me that where there is an opportunity to create a truly world class business in Scotland, such as RHL, we should do everything in our power to ensure we deliver it.

“In turn, the country and its people benefit through the jobs and related social improvements that such businesses create.”

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A Scottish National Party MSP has said the closure of a shipyard would cost the country more than 5m each year in state benefits.

The claim by Bruce McFee comes amid a row about the awarding of a vital shipbuilding contract.

The Scottish Executive could give the deal for two vessels to a Polish yard instead of Ferguson in Port Glasgow.

The Clyde business has already begun a programme of lay-offs and may close if it fails to win the executive contract.

Ferguson management have said the yard in Gdansk has been given an unfair advantage in the bidding process.

Long-term savings

Along with a number of politicians, Ferguson chiefs have urged the European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes to investigate how the Polish bidder was able to undercut Ferguson.

However, Scotland’s Fisheries Minister Ross Finnie has maintained that he has no grounds on which to exclude the overseas yard.

He said that the situation surrounding the EU investigation into the competition claims was far from clear.

This yard is slowly bleeding to death Bruce McFee SNP MSP

On Monday, Mr McFee, MSP for the West of Scotland, said in the long-term savings would be realised if the contract was kept on the Clyde.

Mr McFee said: “The closure of this yard would have a devastating impact on Port Glasgow and the wider community.

“Last Friday, another 20 members of staff, including the design team, received their P45s while Jack McConnell and his Liberal stooge, Ross Finnie, stand idly by.

“This yard is slowly bleeding to death.”

It is projected that there will be a 3m saving on each vessel if the contract is awarded to the Polish yard.

But Mr McFee said that if the Ferguson yard closed it would result in a 5m benefits bill and a fall in income tax receipts, national insurance contributions and VAT receipts.

Legal challenge

The executive’s argument about following clear bidding rules need not apply in this case, he went on.

He has cited a European Union ruling which allows for governments to provide “positive actions or positive discrimination in particular with a view to combating unemployment and social exclusion” .

Mr McFee said: “The door is wide open for Jack McConnell and Ross Finnie to award the Scottish fisheries protection vessels to the Ferguson yard.”

However, a Scottish Executive spokesman said that it was aware of the implications of the contract to the economy, but the rules were clear.

He added: “We are continuing to explore every possible way of assisting Ferguson Shipbuilders within the constraints of the law.

“It is not in the executive’s gift to award high value public contracts on an arbitrary basis.

“To do so would risk legal challenge by aggrieved bidders and the European Commission and could have implications for other Scottish companies engaged in exports.”

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A bigamist from South Africa who admitted infecting his lover with HIV has been jailed for six years.

Kouassi Michel Adaye, 40, who pleaded guilty on Friday, came to Britain five years ago, claiming asylum.

Although he had a wife in South Africa, he married a 57-year-old Liverpool woman in January last year.

He had also started a relationship with a 48-year-old woman - also from Merseyside - knowing he was probably HIV positive, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

The woman contracted the virus after sleeping with Adaye.

Judge David Lynch, who recommended that Adaye should be deported after serving his sentence, told him he was a danger to women and that his behaviour was “despicable”.

I cannot imagine a greater degree of grievous bodily harm Judge David Lynch

“You pleaded guilty on the basis you were reckless and did not intend to inflict this harm. It is recklessness of the highest possible degree,” he said.

The court was told Adaye had been warned he was a potential carrier of the virus.

Judge Lynch said: “But you went on and had unprotected sexual intercourse with this lady and you knew it was highly likely, if not certain, that you were HIV positive.”

He added: “I cannot imagine a greater degree of grievous bodily harm than infecting a person with a virus of this nature.”

‘Single parent’

According to prosecutor John McDermott QC, Adaye’s South African wife informed
him in April 2002 that she was infected with HIV.

Adaye, of Wynnstay Street, Toxteth, pleaded guilty to bigamy and inflicting unlawful and malicious bodily harm on his victim.

At an earlier hearing he had also pleaded guilty to 20 charges of deception.

These included using a false passport,
a false driving licence, and procuring a false national insurance number.

Adaye also illegally claimed more than 12,000 in benefits falsely claiming he was a single parent caring for two children in a cramped flat without electricity.

And despite not being allowed to work while his asylum bid was being processed, he
held down three jobs.

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