World News 24-10-2003 British Madame Gets Four Years who: Alleged `madam` Margaret MacDonald what: Sentenced to four years in prison where: Paris when: Yesterday snippet: "A British woman accused of running one of Europe`s most elaborate and expensive prostitution rings was jailed for four years yesterday," says The Independent, "after being convicted by a French court of `aggravated pimping`." "On her 44th birthday, Margaret MacDonald had little to celebrate as she was returned to prison in handcuffs from a court in Paris," says The Telegraph. "Outside, her friends portrayed her as an exemplary employer who had not exploited women." In addition to the jail sentence, she was fined €150,000 "for her empire of 452 high-class prostitutes which she advertised on the internet and in the International Herald Tribune," says The Mirror. "On hearing the sentence [she] bowed her head in shock and sighed. She had told a friend she would be `home for Christmas`." "Clients were charged according to their wealth," reveals The Scotsman`s Karen McVeigh. "Men with hotel rooms at the luxury George V hotel in Paris could be charged up to £600 an hour, while those in cheaper hotels were billed £250 an hour." "Her client list was said to consist of mainly Arab and European businessmen," says the BBC, "although some were rumoured to be British celebrities." [... more]

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