UK Sex Sells News

The UK Government has changed the law to dictate that couples in an established relationship are now banned from intimate meetings (unless they live together or are in a support bubble). Previous incarnations of coronavirus restrictions offered exemptions fro people in an established relationship but these have been dropped from rules imposed on areas classed as high or very high risk areas (applying to about half of the people in England).

Downing Street has confirmed that couples living apart in areas under these tougher restrictions can only meet outdoors. And, if the prospect of outdoor-only encounters during the bitter winter months was not grim enough, Boris Johnson's official spokesman clarified that they are not even meant to touch each other under social distancing rules.

Asked if couples living apart in tier 2 areas can see each other indoors, the prime minister's official spokesman said on Friday:

The rules on household mixing in tier 2, I think, set out that you should mix with your own household only unless you've formed a support bubble, and that obviously does apply to some couples.

The prime minister's spokesman clarified that the restrictions were set out in law. Asked why an exemption for established relationships was not written into the law for those in tiers 2 and 3, Johnson's spokesman added:

Because the purpose of the measures we've put in place is to break the chain of transmission between households, and the scientific advice is that there is greatest transmission of the virus indoors.

I don't suppose the Government will be publishing daily statistics about compliance with such miserable and unfeeling rules.

A much harassed strip club which closed in March due to coronavirus restrictions has decided not to apply to renew its licence.

Spearmint Rhino, which has been on Brown Street in Sheffield for 18 years, has surrendered its sexual entertainment venue licence and handed over its alcohol licence to another operator.

The club recently won a high-profile battle to renew the licence for a six-month period last September after a campaign by women's equality campaigners. But Sheffield City Council said the club has now withdrawn its latest application.

In the summer, the club dropped a privacy case against feminist campaigners who commissioned non consensual and secret filming of dancers at work.

Some strip club dancers, who have not worked since March, have said the industry has been hit hard by coronavirus pandemic restrictions. So presumably much of this latest decision was down to economic reality rather than more political issues.

La Chambre is a very well known swinger's club in Sheffield. It has announced that after a year of coronavirus lockdown it is closing down at the current venue but hopes to find somewhere else in the future. A Facebook post explains:

As most clubs like ours have had to close due to COVID, it has proven to be a difficult time for us all and sadly we are starting to see some clubs making the awful decision to close their doors for ever. 

We have been reviewing our own club a long with government guideline to see what we can do ourselves, we have thought about every possible way that we can think of to get back up and running but each time we hit hurdle after hurdle that prevents it. So firstly we would like to announce that Marie and Barry, (The Oldest Swingers in Town) are hanging up their swinging shoes, whips and chains and slipping into the wonderful world of retirement.

We have taken a long hard look at La Chambre and like most clubs it make financial sense to remain closed as we lose less money than we would if we opened. We don't see the point in paying for something that we are not using, so have decided not to renew our lease on our current building while we are unable to open, which will continue for the next 6 months under the current government guide lines.

We are going to use this time to look for a new build that we feel will be more suitable and give us more options to open and also give us a chance to bring La Chambre a whole new lease of life.

Sheffield Council is set to discuss 'hugging breaches' and other issues at Spearmint Rhino lap dancing club.

One of the conditions of its licence is that random samples of CCTV footage will be inspected by officers on at least a monthly basis and a report presented to the licensing committee quarterly.

Recordings from various days over November and December were inspected and footage of 35 dances were viewed. Officers found three occasions of dancers hugging customers at the end of performances, which is against the licence rules that state there must be no physical contact between performer

They also found problems with customers attempting to touch dancers and not keeping their hands by their side, but where this did happen dancers stopped their performance or door staff intervened. Officers also raised issues with dancers brushing customers legs although said it appears to be accidental, and they said it was difficult to see some dances as they were performed at the far side of booths.

In the report, Claire Bower, council officer, said: Officers consider the findings to show minor issues and therefore advice has been provided in writing to the the club. The report will be discussed at a meeting on October 5.

The government's latest diktats about the rule of 6 restrictions on social interactions at least allow for an exception to social distancing for those in an 'established relationship' The relevant part of the law reads:

When with people you do not live with, you should also avoid: physical contact; being close and face-to-face; and shouting or singing close to them. You should also avoid crowded areas with lots of people; and touching things that other people have touched.

Where you cannot stay 2 metres apart you should stay more than 1 metre apart, as well as taking extra steps to stay safe. For example:

• wear a face covering : on public transport and in many indoor spaces, you must wear a face covering by law, unless you are exempt

• move outdoors, where it is safer and there is more space

• if indoors, make sure rooms are well ventilated by keeping windows and doors open

You do not need to socially distance from anyone in your household, meaning the people you live with. You also do not need to socially distance from someone you're in an established relationship with , or anyone in your legally-permitted support bubble if you are in one.

This has prompted people to ask if people are allowed to meet for sex if they are in a recently established relationship or if they are allowed to have sex on the first date.

An article from pinknews.co.uk asks whether casual sex hook ups are now banned for 6 months.

Matt Hancock on Sky News refused to answer sensible questions about the definition of 'established relationships' but seemed to conclude that casual sex is now illegal by saying that people should abide by the rules in their letter and their spirit.

A licence has been granted for a new lap dancing club in Barnsley Town Centre. The venue will be the Theatre Royal on Wellington Street.

There are management connections with Wildcats club on the same street which will be closing.

The application states that the new club, which will be called Gentleman Jacks, will feature: fully nude zero contact lap dancing, also focused around craft beer and cocktails. The applicant said:

I would like to convert the former theatre to its former glory, for the public to once again be able to enjoy.

The plans are to convert the historic theatre into two venues, with gentleman's club Gentleman Jack's on the second floor. The ground floor will be converted into a separate nightclub-cum-bar called Cheeky Tiki.

Update: Licence approved

21st September 2020. See article from examinerlive.co.uk

The local council has now approved a sexual entertainment licence for the new venue.

A customer who went to to the financial ombudsman after £13,000 vanished from his bank following a night of drinking at a lap-dancing club has failed to get the disputed money refunded.

He fell asleep in the club and when he woke he still had his card and could remember only a couple of £200 dances. But when he later checked his account he found £12,921 had been taken in six transactions.

The customer claimed he must have been drugged and his details stolen by staff and he sought a refund from his bank, TSB.

When the unnamed club was contacted by the bank they showed receipts for all the disputed transactions. The police declines to get involved citing previous similar cases not finding enough evidence for a prosecution.

A Birmingham Burlesque show is giving up the format over coronavirus restrictions.

The management of Tina Night Club on Broad Street explained that the format wasn't viable in a covid world. Managers are now seeking to convert the venue into a standard bar.

Selfridges is fighting plans to open a strip club directly opposite its new entrance. The department store has objected to an application for a club in Duke Street.

Electshow Ltd, which ran lap dancing venue the Mayfair Club in Dover Street, has applied to Westminster council to turn the existing Blush club into a gentleman's bar offering full nudity, striptease and pole-dancing between 9pm and 6am Monday to Saturday. The Mayfair Club closed in December when the lease ran out.

At a meeting last week, Selfridges QC told Westminster's licensing committee that a strip club has no place here. He argued:

Selfridges needs no introduction. It is an iconic retail store, one of the anchor retail stores of the West End of London and acts as a magnet for visitors.

My clients have spent five years and £300million on a redevelopment of the Duke Street facade to transform it from the rather modest services side of the building to a fine piece of architecture in its own right.

This proposal for a lap dancing club is entirely inimical to the character of this area. It has no place here... This is not [an application] for a corner store. It's a 6am sexual entertainment venue licence and nightclub in a highly sensitive location. It has attracted a large amount of objections.

Westminster council is expected to publish its decision this week.

Erect penises appeared on broadcast television on Monday reportedly for the first time in a new taboo-shattering Channel 4 documentary. Me & My Penis , which aired at 10pm, showed footage of eight erections as men pose for naked photographs while discussing male issues.

The erections are shown in an entirely artistic photographic context, and Channel 4 feels that filming them doesn't break any rules.

The subjects filmed for the documentary are photographed by London-based British artist and fine art photographer Ajamu, whose radical portraits of the male body have pushed boundaries and provoked cultural debate.

While he shoots their intimate photographs, the men discuss their varied experiences -- from the pleasures of sex to stories of infertility and sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, homophobia and mental health. The programme, which airs at 10pm, will show footage of eight erections as men pose for naked photographs while discussing male issues.

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has previously said there is no ban on showing erections on TV, but it would have to be justified by the context.

Channel 4 is trailing Swingers , a frank and enlightening observational-documentary looks to lift the lid on the swinging scene.

Filmed before the outbreak of Covid-19, Swingers explores the world of the everyday people who choose to do something different in their free time.

Meeting committed couples who claim swinging is the cherry on top of their already great relationship and single men and women who believe swinging is a safe and respectful way to satisfy their sexual desires without commitment; the single women being known as unicorns for their rarity on the circuit.

  The one off documentary will air later this year in an hour-long slot on Channel 4.

A group of lap-dancers who were filmed without their consent at a strip club have dropped their privacy case.

Feminists commissioned the covert filming which showed dancers sexually touching customers and each other at Spearmint Rhino in Sheffield.

Lap dancers, supported by the club, took legal action against the filming, saying their human rights had been breached.

However, the case has been discontinued with Spearmint Rhino agreeing to pay almost £50,000 in costs.

The feminist group Not Buying It said it hoped the outcome would embolden others to come forward.

It is understood that the club felt it could have won the case but decided not to pursue it because of added financial limitations due to the coronavirus crisis. All lap-dancing clubs remain closed as part of measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

Not Buying it is understood to have commissioned private investigators to visit the strip club, as well as another in London, wearing glasses containing hidden cameras.

A group of nine workers from the club then went to court claiming publication of the footage would infringe their human right to respect for private life .

Spearmint Rhino in Sheffield had its licence renewed last year, however campaigners are challenging this with a judicial review expected to be heard later this year.

A Blackpool lap dancing club has been allowed to keep its licence after councillors dismissed unsubstantiated allegations against the operator.

The licensee appeared before a meeting of the council's public protection sub-committee after an objection was received to his application to renew the sexual entertainment venue licence at Sinless on Central Promenade.

The meeting heard allegations had been made against Mr Newton that he had acted inappropriately towards female performers, encouraged drug taking and allowed under-age drinking and performing.

The authority found no evidence to back up the claims.

A monopoly of one strip club will continue to be enforced by Watford Borough Council.

The Council's existing licensing policy limits the number of sexual entertainment venues in the borough to just one. And since 2011 the only sexual entertainment venue in the borough has been teh Diamond and Strings lap dancing club in Market Street.

But on July 7th, members of the council's licensing committee met to consider whether the number of venues allowed in the town should be increased. But the committee agreed that the existing monopoly should remain in place for a further three years when the policy will be reviewed again.

The U.K. government is set to invest £170,000 into a company that runs adult parties for the rich and famous around the world.

Founded in 2005 by Emma Sayle, Killing Kittens hosts exclusive events in cities like London, Manchester and Los Angeles. The company explains on its website:

Our world-famous parties are designed to encourage, liberate, build confidence and allow experimentation all within a safe environment led by our Kittens. Burlesque performances, ornate townhouses, countryside mansions. We guarantee it's like nothing you've ever experienced before.

Killing Kittens launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Seedrs platform in May. It raised £170,000 from Seedrs investors, which the government is planning to match through its Future Fund scheme, bringing total investment to £340,000. When the deal is complete, the U.K. taxpayer will hold a 1.47% equity stake in Killing Kittens.

The number of city strip clubs in Norwich is set to be restricted after councillors agreed a new licensing policy.

Councillors decided to restrict the number of licensed sexual entertainment venues (SEV) to two in the inner city and two in the wider outer city area.

A report on the measures claimed that concentration of licensed premises in a particular area can result in a potential fear of crime, anti-social behaviour, noise pollution and other disturbance.

The screening of new Channel 4 drama Adult Material has been pushed back until the autumn.

The adult related content requires a 10pm slot and in the current climate of coronavirus, it would have to compete with the main BBC and ITV news programmes, which are still getting 6.5 million viewers tuning in for updates on the Covid crisis.

It's hoped that by waiting until the autumn, there's a chance that the crisis will have calmed down and people's viewing habits will return to normal.

A strip club harassed by feminist campaigners has had its license renewed. Sheffield council's licensing committee had met for eight hours to discuss whether Spearmint Rhino should have its sexual entertainment licence renewed.

Private investigators employed by campaigners had secretly filmed dancers who reportedly sexually touched customers and each other. The dances were filmed without consent of either the dancers or the customers.

Dancers from the club had campaigned to save the licence. Celia Lister, who dances at the club, said:

It's been a huge milestone in breaking the social stigma around sex work and I think much to the displeasure of [anti-strip club campaigners], this scandal has actually helped us gain the publicity we needed to do this.

The council said full reasons for the renewal would be given soon but fter the secret filming council officers inspected the club monthly.