London, Nov 17 : British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has slammed businessmen who entertain their clients at lap-dancing clubs.

Smith said lap-dancing venues seemed to have become an acceptable place for work nights out and branded the practice ‘bizarre’.

He added that the new laws would make it harder for them to open.

"If I were a business person and I were wanting to make the best impression on clients, who presumably are female as well as male, I do think it''s a bit bizarre that you would take them to a lap-dancing club," the Mirror quoted her, as telling the Observer.

A new licensing regime, due to be declared later this month, will see such clubs subjected to the same tough rules as sex shops.

According to ministers, the move will give local residents more powers to object to the venues opening, and get them closed down.

"It''s not a complete ban on lap-dancing clubs, but it''s saying you don''t operate in a vacuum, you have an impact on the community around you," Smith said.

"I would hope it would make it harder for them to open, certainly in residential areas, and I would suspect that some of them will be closed when the licences come up for renewal," she added. (ANI)