Lap dancing clubs have slammed a Government announcement to give new powers to councils to control them.
The Home Office announced on Friday that it would reclassify lap dancing clubs under licensing law so that they will be classed as sex establishments, allowing residents to object to them if they feel they are "inappropriate" to an area.
Currently, the clubs are in the same category as pubs and cafes, and councils can only object to them on the grounds of crime, nuisance or public safety.
The new powers are set to come into force in April. Existing clubs will be given 12 months to apply for a new licence or face closure.
Simon Warr, chairman of the Lap Dancing Association, said the announcement was "not unexpected".
"The Government has been hell-bent on introducing this totally unnecessary piece of legislation for the past year and has paid little heed to the needs and concerns of the thousands of dancers, barstaff and others who work in the industry.
"Harriet Harman has just castigated 15,000 ordinary people - not to mention voters - who work in a legitimate and legal section of the entertainment industry as 'sleazy'," Warr said.
He added that the move was likely to end up with a legal challenge and that Harman should "come clean and be honest" about how the new law will work in practice.
Meanwhile Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licenses Multiple Retailers (ALMR), the national trade body for pub and bar operators said: "This new piece of legislation is a prime example of unnecessary legislative creep. It undermines the principles of the Licensing Act - one tailor-made for the premises rather than multiple permissions - and it sets a worrying precedent for how other sections of the hospitality industry could be treated."
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By Neil Gerrard
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