Archbishop backs Denis Macshane over sex slaves

THE Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has thrown his weight behind Rotherham MP Denis MacShane's battle to stop women being shipped to Britain to work as sex slaves.

The Archbishop has written to Dr MacShane to thank him for highlighting the growing problem of young girls and women who are being trafficked to work in the sex industry.

Dr MacShane has been campaigning for some years to change the law so that men, not women, must accept responsibility for the abuses of trafficked and coerced women forced to work as prostitutes.

He urged Dr Sentamu as a member of the House of Lords to take a lead in the debate in the Lords.

The Archbishop, together with other peers, agreed to support the Labour Government's new bill which now makes it a crime to pay for sex with a woman who has been trafficked or coerced into working for a pimp in a brothel or a massage parlour.

Dr MacShane said he was pleased to have the support of the Archbishop and added: "Until now it has been women who have been arrested, questioned or deported, as if the victims of the sex trade should be held responsible for their plight.

"Now men who pay for sex with a trafficked or coerced girl or woman may be arrested and charged."