Strauss-Kahn denies link to prostitution ring

A lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn says the former IMF chief wants to be questioned by police so that he can debunk claims he was linked to a suspected hotel prostitution ring.

Frédérique Beaulieu said yesterday his client wanted "to put an end to these insinuations and extrapolations". He said Mr Strauss-Kahn had not yet been contacted by police.

Prosecutors in Lille are investigating a suspected prostitution ring in France and Belgium. The head of the luxury Hotel Carlton in Lille was among those detained. The weekly Journal du Dimanche said Mr Strauss-Kahn's name surfaced in the investigation as a possible client.

Mr Strauss-Kahn was accused of sexual assault in New York earlier this year. The charges were dropped, but his accuser, hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, is pursuing a civil case. AP