London council wants to strip pub of amateur exposing

For nearly three decades The White Swan pub in East London has been allowing men to whip out their cockney charms in an amateur strip night. However council officials have threatened to make pub-goers keep their clothes on.

Labour run Tower Hamlets Council has taken issue with the gaybar over the flashing flesh-fest which has been virtually weekly for twenty-six years.

Hosted by a plethora of outragious Drag Queens over the years, the strip night sees male members of the public offer their bodies for titillation.

The possible closure follows new legislation, which allows the councils to enforce closure on venues which offer inappropriate lap-dancing, pole-dancing or strip tease. The aim of the legislation is aimed to curb possible prostitution and exploitation within public premises.

Daryl Stafford, who organised the petition, told the BBC: “The legislation was originally set up to stop women being exploited and coerced into the sex trade… But there are no women involved in this. It’s a men only night and stripping is voluntary.”

While the Labour council has yet to make a decision on the venue in Commercial Road local residents and regulars to The White Swan have joined forces to save the Strip night, which is described as ‘harmless fun’.

Protesters against the demise of what has become a local institution say the venue should be excluded from the sex establishment consultation because the Wednesday night strip is comedy-based and voluntary.

Six hundred names were gathered in the local area in support of the pub, however no word on whether it has had an impact with the council has been revealed as yet. News of the decision should have been made public at the end of December last year.

“We’ve survived a lot over the years.” The White Swan’s co-owner, Barry Kirk, is reported as telling BBC London. “But Wednesday is our only busy weeknight. If they kill off our Wednesday nights, we’ll be threatened with [entire] closure.”

In a rare move the Tory party have backed the gay bar, “I, like most reasonably minded people, have concerns about scantily clad women being exploited.” Said Conservative group leader at Tower Hamlets, Peter Golds adding, “But consenting adults looking for a laugh, a joke and comedy is not exploitation.” He told BBC London.