THE Met's top cop is to investigate whether newspaper editors should be prosecuted if their titles advertise the services of women who have been forced into prostitution.

In an exclusive interview with News Shopper, Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson pledged that he and his officers would look into proposals on the issue put forward by anti sex traffic campaigners.

Earlier this year the law was changed to make it an offence for a man to have sex with a prostitute who is a sex slave, even if they have no knowledge of this fact.

Campaigners want a similar legal penalty to apply to newspapers which advertise their services. Sir Paul said: "Anything that could genuinely reduce the human misery of people trafficking, prostitution, and people working in the most dreadful conditions and having to sell their body just to keep a pimp in business would have my support."

He said: "I deplore how these people are treated, so anything that could stop trafficking, prostitution, and their linked offences would have to have my support, and I will look further in to it."

Newsquest, the publisher of News Shopper, took the lead in banning all adult advertisements in July 2008, having been persuaded of the clear link between the ads and women being trafficked for sex.

But almost two years on, many newspapers have failed to take action and are continuing to take money from this kind of advertising.

For the full exclusive interview with Sir Paul, visit newsshopper.co.uk on Wednesday, May 19.