Lap-dancing clubs reclassified as 'sex encounter venues'

Ministers said last night they will close a loophole blamed by campaigners for a boom in venues offering adult entertainment.

They admitted Labour's 2003 Licensing Act, already widely criticised for introducing 24-hour drinking, was responsible for 'confusion' about the rules governing sex shows.

A lap-dancer at the Spearmint Rhino club in central London: New laws will make it easier for authorities to oppose the opening of lap-dancing clubs

Current rules impose minimal regulations because lap-dancing clubs outside London are treated in the same way as bars or restaurants.

The number of lap-dancing venues has doubled to 300 in the past four years.

Gordon Brown has backed the move to give councils more powers to prevent them from opening in their areas.

Residents have complained that their neighbourhoods have been blighted by sleazy clubs.

Ministers want to reclassify them as peep shows that 'provide visual sexual stimulation'.

The announcement coincided with an attempt by MPs in the Commons to force a change in the law to correct a problem they say stems from Labour legislation.

Ministers admitted last night there was confusion over the 2003 Act, which appeared to make it easier for clubs to offer sexually explicit entertainment.

In a letter sent to council chief executives, Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said the current regulations 'do not go as far as some people would like to control the proliferation of lap-dancing clubs and similar establishments'.

His letter invited council leaders to tell the Government what changes they want to see to allow them to limit the number of clubs.

Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods, however, urged the Government to amend the law so local communities could have a ' strengthened role' in decision-making on clubs.

The Fawcett Society, a women's rights group, urged the Government to license 'lap-dance clubs as sex-encounter establishments  -  as sex shops and sex cinemas are'.