Ex-prostitutes win the right to keep their past a secret

FORMER prostitutes will no longer have to disclose convictions for soliciting to employers after a High Court ruling.

Three women groomed into prostitution as teenagers won a legal battle against the Government that means they will be free to work in schools, nurseries, hospitals and care homes.

The High Court ruled the trio should be allowed to alter their record so they are not haunted forever by past offences when applying for jobs requiring a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Fiona Broadfoot and two other women, who said they were ‘groomed, pimped and trafficked’, argued that existing laws breached the European Convention on Human Rights and made it difficult for those trying to quit prostitution.

Mr Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, said current rules were unlawful and unnecessary.

‘We accept that the claimants have all suffered a handicap in the labour market, and have suffered embarrassment and humiliation,’ he added.

Speaking after the ruling, Miss Broadfoot, now 49, said: ‘Finally, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It’s a vindication.’

A Home Office spokesman said the department was aware of the ruling, and was ‘now considering the details of the court’s decision’.