Government-run Jobcentres offer X-Rated Porn work to unemployed women

Jobseekers are told they can earn up to £700 a week if they strip naked on webcams and have sexually explicit conversations with customers. Women looking for clerical work were given applications for sex line jobs when they went to sign on at Jobcentre Plus offices in Birmingham, Warwickshire and Shropshire.

Faceclick, the adult agency recruiting for the work, encourages applicants to perform "activities that you feel comfortable with" when naked in front of the camera. It features photos of its clients under various titles including "just legal 18", "fetish" and "role play".

One 19-year-old woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Birmingham Mail she was shocked a taxpayer-funded government agency was effectively recruiting for the sex industry.

She said: "My job in a call centre is a fixed-term contract that's coming to an end and I've just taken out a car loan so I'm desperate for work.

"But I'm not so desperate that I'm prepared to perform disgusting acts on an internet sex line."

The job adverts have sparked outrage, with Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood demanding an official inquiry. A spokeswoman for Mediawatch-UK, which campaigns for family values in the media, called for the adverts to be removed immediately.

She added: "Can you imagine being the parent of an 18-year-old who is sent down to the job centre and offered that sort of job?

"It's just one step away from prostitution, and it's hardly a meaningful job for life is it?"

When contacted by Sky News, the Department for Work and Pensions said it was now reviewing its procedures. A spokeswoman said: "We are aware of public concern about advertising these vacancies.

"We have undertaken a public consultation on this issue and we are reviewing existing policy in light of the responses received."

She pointed out that before 2003, the Jobcentre Plus's policy was to refuse all vacancies from the adult entertainment industry. But this was challenged in the High Court by Ann Summers, which successfully argued it should be allowed to advertise in Jobcentres.


/Sky News/