A former Bradford brothel-keeper has said resources should be spent on preventing women from working on the streets rather than legalising prostitution.

Charlie Daniels said those already on the streets should also be helped, following MP Gerry Sutcliffe’s call for a debate on the legalisation of prostitution.

Mr Sutcliffe, the Bradford South Labour MP, this week said there should be “controlled zones” where sex workers could operate more safely in the wake of the killings of three prostitutes in the city.

But Miss Daniels, a former prostitute and Bradford brothel-keeper, said time and energy would be better spent on helping women working on the streets and preventing more from following the same path.

She said: “In this country we need to stop looking at the laws when we have a problem, whether it is prostitution, alcohol or cannabis.

“Why do we think that by changing the laws, by legalising or decriminalising things, that we are solving the problems? We need to look at what motivates people’s actions and behaviour.”

She took part in the government’s sex industry consultation paper Paying the Price in 2004. She said: “We have been here before – it’s so frustrating for me.”

John Edwards, founder of Walking Free charity, which helps people living on the streets, agreed there should be a debate but said legalising prostitution would be a knee jerk reaction.

He said: “First of all, I think it is a very brash statement to try and legalise it in different areas. There needs to be a debate about it.

“I think there are far more initiatives that we could put in place to help these girls in a more practical way rather than legalising the whole business.”

Mr Edwards said there needed to be more on-the-ground help for the women through community organisations and charitable bodies who understood the issues.

He said: “If we legalise zones what’s to stop pimps and prostitutes working outside of these zones, because the black market will always find a vacuum to work in where it can get profit.”

l Stephen Griffiths, 40, of Holmfield Court, Thornton Road, Bradford, awaits trial, charged with the murders of sex workers Suzanne Blamires, 36, Shelley Arimtage, 31, and Susan Rushworth, 43.