High Court told of prostitutes at hotel

By Cathy Cooper

The Dorchester hotel in London has denied that up to 40 prostitutes at a time were brought into the hotel by Prince Jefri, brother of the hotel's owner, the Sultan of Brunei.

The allegations were made in the High Court last week by one of the prince's former friends, Bob Manoukian, who is involved in a multi-million-pound legal battle with Jefri.

Manoukian said: "There might be up to 40 prostitutes present at the Dorchester Hotel at any one time paid for by Prince Jefri."

A spokeswoman for the Dorchester said: "It's an allegation that's been made by one side in court. It's been strongly denied."

When asked about prostitution at the hotel, she said: "It's not happening. We've got one of the biggest security departments in London. We have only one entrance and it's easy to monitor who's coming in and out."

But officers at Scotland Yard's Hotel Intelligence Unit believe hotels cannot identify prostitutes now because prostitution had moved from the streets to escort agencies. "They're not going to be hanging round the door, they're going to be sitting at home waiting for their mobile to go," said one officer.

He added that the trend meant prostitutes were no longer "standing round intimidating guests", and that there were fewer thefts from hotel rooms because the women could be traced.

Prostitution is not illegal. Prostitutes are only breaking the law when they solicit in a public place, and clients only when they pick up prostitutes on the street.

Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said: "Nowadays no one can be sure who is a prostitute. Everyone involved is more discreet than that. It's always going to be a problem to some extent."