Prostitution and illegal drugs are contributing around £10bn a year to the British economy, according to official data. More than half of that - £5.3bn - is attributable to prostitution, the Office for National Statistics (the ONS) said on Thursday. The total figure for 2009 - the most recent year for which data are available - is more than double the £4bn that construction bought to the economy in the same year, and double the amount raked in by the financial intermediation services industry. Britain has to estimate by how much these black or shadow economy activities are boosting the economy to comply to new EU ... (full story)