A minister firmly rejected calls to ban smacking in England - but claimed his wife has occasionally smacked their nine-year-old daughter.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said “a light smack on the arm” to discipline a child for misbehaving did not amount to assault or abuse and admitted his wife Lana had “on occasion” felt the need to smack one of their three children.
Mr Zahawi’s remarks came after the children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said she would back a ban on smacking in England, which is already in place in Scotland and was introduced in Wales last month.
He told Times Radio, which also first reported Ms de Souza’s comments on extending the ban: “I’ve got a young child, I’ve got a nine year old...and I don’t think I have ever smacked her but I think her mother on occasion has...felt the need for a light smack on the arm when she is being completely naughty and misbehaving.
“It has to be on very rare occasion and not something that we would certainly as parents want to do very often. In fact it’s much better to sit down and communicate with your child and discuss behaviour and discuss what positive behaviour looks like and that’s how we choose to do this in the Zahawi household.”
Ms de Souza said the introduction of the ban in Wales presented a “great opportunity to look, watch it, as it’s embedded [in Wales]”, adding: “I would be supportive — certainly, from what I’ve seen so far — I would be supportive if our government decided to do the same.
“I absolutely abhor, and I’m against violence of any kind against children. Because children are more vulnerable than adults, I think we do need to ensure that their rights are supported.”
Following the introduction of the ban in Wales last month, parents or anyone who is responsible for a child while the parents are absent can now face criminal or civil charges if they are found to have physically disciplined a young person in any way.
Critics of the law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh Government insisted the move was about protecting children’s rights. It came after Scotland introduced its own ban in November 2020.
While some Conservative MPs have spoken out against the move in Wales and warned against extending it to England, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has previously said it should be mirrored in England and Northern Ireland, calling it “the right thing” to do.
Legislation outlawing the physical punishment of children is in place in more than 60 nations.
But Mr Zahawi told Times Radio: “A light smack on the arm I don’t think people listening to your programme this morning would see as being assault or abuse. We have got to just make sure we don’t end up in a world where the state is nannying people.
“My very strong view, protection of children is really important and we make sure the legislation is in place and not just the legislation but how it works on the ground...to make sure children are protected in whatever environment they are in, the home or outside the home.
“But a light smack on the arm by a parent to a child to discipline them is something the parent should be able to decide upon.”
