CEOs from Vodafone, Orange, O2, 3, Virgin and T-Mobile will meet to discuss the issue of blocking prostitutes’ phone numbers. The CEOs will also meet with Metropolitan Police representatives, the Crown Prosecution Service and British Telecom along with several female spokespersons this October.

Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Policing, said that blocking the numbers would not only deprive gangs of income but force them to spend more on printing cards with new numbers. “Nothing is more important to a pimp or trafficker than money. They don’t give a damn about the women and girls they abuse, they only care about the cash in their pocket,” he said.

“In 2012 we want to be proud of our city as a glittering example to the world. But we need the mobile phone operators to show their commitment to fighting the abuse of women and help us. We want companies like Vodafone, Orange, O2, 3, Virgin and T-Mobile to make it difficult for the pimps and traffickers who advertise their mobile numbers on these cards to do business by barring them,” he added.