SMACKING CHILDREN COULD BE CRIMINAL OFFENCE

THE DAYS of parents smacking their children could be numbered as MPs attempt to change the law this week.

- By Jonathan Walker

A cross-party bid has been launched to bring England into line with Wales and Scotland, which have already banned the physical punishment of children.

The move has been driven by recent horrific cases of child abuse by parents. But it has created a headache for the Government, which had been resisting the call after critics in Wales accused its Labour-run government of creating a “nanny state”.

The MPs will attempt to amend the Government's Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which returns to the Commons tomorrow to remove the legal defence of "reasonable punishment". This currently allows a parent to inflict a mild physical punishment without being accused of committing an assault.

Supporters of changing the law, who include charity the NSPCC, say it would have no impact on the overwhelming majority of families but would make it easier for authorities to intervene when parents regularly beat their offspring.

Campaigners say the current legal situation contributed to the horrific murders of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, whose father and stepmother were found guilty of murder following her death in 2023, and Dwelaniyah Robinson, whose mother was convicted of murder after he died aged three in 2022.

The amendment, to be debated tomorrow, is backed by Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green backbench MPs.