Sick 'pimping websites' given four-word warning as MPs demand new laws
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips says tough new laws will give courts the power to suspend adult service sites behind sexual exploitation as MPs demand paying for sex is made illegal
Vile "pimping websites" have been warned "we're coming for you" by a government minister.
Jess Phillips said it was "sickening" that traffickers are making huge profits from selling exploited women for sex online. The Safeguarding Minister said new laws will give authorities the power to ban adult services sites that facilitate sex trafficking.
But she stopped short of pledging to make it illegal to pay for sex despite growing calls from MPs. The Government is under pressure to change the law to target buyers and those who profit from exploiting others - while ripping up existing prostitution offences.
Ms Phillips told MPs it is "utterly dispicable" that men post online reviews of women who are coerced into having sex. She said: "These men disgust me with their attitude towards women generally and also the suggestion that they should be able to pay for somebody's horror and then give a bad review."
Brits should learn to speak Russian if defence spending isn't ramped up, NATO chief warns
And Ms Phillips continued: "These sites - we know what they are - we're coming for you." She said legslation going through Parliament will allow courts to suspend websites behind sexual exploitation. And she said the Government will be publishing its strategy for tackling violence against women and girls later this year.
The remarks came after Labour backbencher Tracy Gilbert read out a number of sickening reviews posted about women online. Under current law it is legal to pay for sex and adult services websites - branded " supermarkets of the vulnerable" by ctitics - are not breaking the law.
Ms Gilbert told MPs that those who pay for sex must face prosecution. She said: "Sex buyers rely on being unseen while they ruin lives leaving us as a society and the individual women left to pick up the pieces of the carnage they cause.
"The demand from men who pay for sex fuel a brutal prostitution and sex trafficking trade. It's funding predatory websites which make millions of pounds using women for sexual exploitation every day."
And the Labour MP added: "The law must accept that prostitution is is violence against women." It comes after Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi tabled amendments to the landmark Crime and Policing Bill calling for those who pay for sex - predominently men - to face prosecution.
Her proposals, backed by more than 50 MPs, would also tear up prostitution offences, which campaigners say trap exploited women from escaping their abusers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
26 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Wales: Online abuse of politicians ‘getting worse'
Plaid Cymru's Adam Price, the first out-gay man in his party to be elected to national office, warned prejudices based on sex, race and sexual orientation have been reinvigorated. He told the Senedd: 'It is getting worse by the day, and it really represents an existential crisis for our democracy and our society.' Mr Price said: 'For our democracy to be effective, it has to be diverse. Diversity trumps ability. It's a piece of evidence in social science.' The former Plaid Cymru leader called for a focus on representation of trans women and men, a community 'under siege', to ensure their voices are heard in the Senedd. Mr Price highlighted harmful comments below news stories involving him in recent weeks. 'That certainly won't deter me and I hope it won't deter anyone else,' he said. 'But we've got to do something about it collectively, haven't we?' Labour's Hannah Blythyn expressed concerns that Wales could go backwards in terms of equality of representation at the next Senedd election in less than 12 months. She warned that online abuse, misogyny and homophobia are rife across society. Ms Blythyn told Senedd members: 'I very much made an active decision when I had the opportunity to stand in this legislature because of the make-up – that there were more women here, that it was more representative.' She emphasised that diversity not only changes the face of politics but its focus too, saying: 'It makes what we do and the policies that we produce so much better because we are experts by our own life experiences.' Jane Hutt, Wales' social justice secretary, acknowledged the rise of abuse, harassment and intimidation towards politicians, candidates and campaigners. During a statement on June 10, she told the Senedd: 'This is a significant barrier to participation in politics, particularly for people from under-represented groups.' She outlined voluntary diversity and inclusion guidance for political parties which aims to ensure democratic bodies are truly representative of all the people of Wales. Ms Hutt said safety costs will be exempt from spending limits for Welsh elections, in line with calls from the Jo Cox Foundation which was set up after the Labour MP's murder in 2016. TOP STORIES TODAY She added that Welsh ministers are working with regulator Ofcom, which has new enforcement powers, around the misuse and abuse of online media. Altaf Hussain, the Kashmir-born Conservative who represents South Wales West, warned guidance on equal representation risks crossing a dangerous line. The former surgeon said: 'Equality of access cannot come just by bureaucratic diktats or targets that treat individuals not as nuanced, valued voices but boxes to tick. 'This removes merit, choice and, frankly, voters' rights deciding who is best representing them. Let's not replace one form of exclusion with another altogether; the truest diversity only flourishes where and when freedom leads.' Plaid Cymru's Sioned Williams said progress on underrepresentation of women in politics has slowed and, in some parts of democracy, has gone into reverse. She pointed out that the number of female leaders in councils has halved to only 9%. Ms Williams warned the voluntary guidance was published 'far too late' and represented a 'poor reflection' of shelved plans to introduce gender quotas to ensure equal representation. 'Wales belongs to everyone,' she said. 'Everyone must have a voice in our nation's future.'
The Independent
42 minutes ago
- The Independent
South Korea's new president invites citizens to nominate his ministers
has launched a 'public referral system' to involve citizens directly in the selection of high-level government officials. Between 10 and 16 June, members of the public can submit nominations for cabinet ministers, vice-ministers, and heads of state institutions via the personnel management ministry's website, president Lee Jae Myung's social media accounts or by email. The initiative, open to any South Korean aged 14 and above, is part of Mr Lee's effort to promote 'popular sovereignty' and more participatory governance, the newly elected president's spokesperson said. Citizens can even nominate themselves by submitting forms requiring details like the candidate's name, field of expertise, contact information, and reason for recommendation. 'True democracy begins when citizens exercise their sovereignty, get involved and make a change,' Mr Lee said in a Facebook post on 10 June. Mr Lee's office will compile submissions into the National Human Resources Database and then begin an internal vetting process to create a shortlist, without public involvement at this stage. According to spokesperson Kang Yu Jung, the screening will involve the presidential secretary for civil service discipline and incorporate an 'open' review component. The initiative fulfils a key campaign pledge by Mr Lee to enhance grassroots engagement in governance. He revealed earlier that a plan to livestream questions at presidential press briefings had come from a citizen's suggestion on social media. Mr Lee, meanwhile, nominated six new vice ministers for finance, foreign and industry on 10 June outside of the public recommendation system. Vice ministerial appointments don't require confirmation hearings by the National Assembly, according to The Korea Herald. 'We promise to restore the administration that suffered a rupture after the insurrection in a speedy manner,' Ms Kang said, referring to ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol 's failed bid to declare martial law last December. 'We will create a government capable of overcoming global protectionism.' Kim Min Seok, Mr Lee's nominee for prime minister, defended the referral system as a 'very natural process in that democracy is in the process of expanding'. Mr Lee is currently working with ministers appointed by Mr Yeol, who was impeached by the National Assembly for declaring martial law and subsequently removed from office by the constitutional court. The presidential office announced that public access to Cheong Wa Dae, the historic Blue House compound in central Seoul, would be partially restricted from 16 to 31 July and fully closed beginning in August. The closure is part of preparations to relocate the presidential office back to Cheong Wa Dae, reversing Mr Yoon's 2022 decision to move it to Yongsan. Public tours of the site will resume once Mr Lee's administration completes the transition, local media reported.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired
A major US government website supporting public education on climate science looks likely to be shuttered after almost all of its staff were fired, the Guardian has learned. the gateway website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)'s Climate Program Office, will imminently no longer publish new content, according to multiple former staff responsible for the site's content whose contracts were recently terminated. 'The entire content production staff at (including me) were let go from our government contract on 31 May,' said a former government contractor who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. 'We were told that our positions within the contract were being eliminated.' Rebecca Lindsey, the website's former program manager, who was fired in February as part of the government's purge of probationary employees, described a months-long situation within Noaa where political appointees and career staff argued over the fate of the website. 'I had gotten a stellar performance review, gotten a bonus, gotten a raise. I was performing very well. And then I was part of that group who got the form letter saying, 'Your knowledge, skills, and abilities are no longer of use to Noaa' – or something to that effect.' Lindsey said she had been worried that might be a target of the new administration soon after the election, but when a large Noaa contract was up for renewal at the end of May, her former boss told her that a demand came 'from above' to rewrite parts of the contract to remove the team's funding. 'It was a very deliberate, targeted attack,' said Lindsey. Lindsey said the content for was created and maintained by a contracted staff of about 10, with additional contributions from Noaa scientists, and its editorial content was specifically designed to be politically neutral, and faithful to the current state of the sciences. All of those staff have now been dismissed, she said. 'We operated exactly how you would want an independent, nonpartisan communications group to operate,' said Lindsey, and noted that is housed within the science division of Noaa, not its public affairs division. 'It does seem to be part of this sort of slow and quiet way of trying to keep science agencies from providing information to the American public about climate.' Noaa has been contacted for comment. It's unclear whether the website will remain visible to the public. The site was housed within the Communication, Education, and Engagement Division of Noaa, which describes itself as 'the largest team in the federal government dedicated to climate communication, education, and engagement'. The website receives hundreds of thousands of visits per month and is one of the most popular sources of information about climate science on the internet. The fired staff believe the changes to were targeted by political appointees within the Trump administration and specifically aimed at restricting public-facing climate information. 'It's targeted, I think it's clear,' said Tom Di Liberto, a former Noaa spokesperson who was also fired from his position earlier this year. 'They only fired a handful of people, and it just so happened to be the entire content team for I mean, that's a clear signal.' The purge spared two web developers, which Di Liberto says is a concerning sign. The contractor said: 'My bigger worry, long-term, is I would hate to see it turn into a propaganda website for this administration, because that's not at all what it was.' The contractor said that while there will still be some pre-written, scheduled content posted on the site this month, there are no plans for further new content: 'After that, we have no idea what will happen to the website.' Lindsey said she also fears a 'sinister possibility' that the administration may co-opt to publish its own anti-science content. Lindsey said the administration could now 'provide a content team from the Heartland Institute, leveraging our audience, our brand, our millions of people that we reach on social media every month. That's the worst-case scenario.' ' is one heck of a URL. If you wanted to basically keep the website alive to do something with later, this is what you would do if you're the [Trump] administration,' said Di Liberto. 'It's clear that the administration does not accept climate science, so it's certainly concerning.' The cuts also mean that there is now also no one left to run social media accounts, which have hundreds of thousands of followers. Since staff in charge of did a lot of pushback on misinformation, their absence may help anti-science information flourish there more readily. 'We were an extremely well-trusted source for climate information, misinformation and disinformation because we actually, legitimately would answer misinformation questions,' said the contractor. 'We'd answer reader emails and try to combat disinformation on social media. 'We get attacked on social media by people who don't believe in climate change, and that's increased over the last six months or so as well.' The shutdown comes amid broader cuts to science funding across the government, including 'significant reductions to education, grants, research, and climate-related programs within Noaa', as stated in the 2026 'passback' budget Congress is currently deliberating. 'It seems like if they can't get rid of all the research, what they can do is make it impossible for anyone to know about it,' said Di Liberto. The contractor said they worry that what may have begun as a heavy-handed attempt by administration officials to limit public knowledge of human-caused climate change will have broader impacts on public education on the cyclical drivers of weather – as well as the results of publicly funded research conducted by Noaa scientists. 'To me, climate is more broad than just climate change. It's also climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña. Halting factual climate information is a disservice to the public. Hiding the impacts of climate change won't stop it from happening, it will just make us far less prepared when it does.'
