The Tory children’s chief today came out against a ban on parents smacking their kids - saying it would be “nannying”.
Nadhim Zahawi said his “strong view” was that “we have got to trust parents on this - and parents being able to discipline their children is something that they should be entitled to do."
There was a "very big difference" between a "light smack on the arm" and child abuse, the Education Secretary told Times Radio.
He said he did not smack his offspring but added: “We have got to just make sure we don't end up in a world where the state is nannying people about how they bring up their children.”
It comes despite Wales and Scotland both banning smacking, Labour leader Keir Starmer backing a ban, and the Children’s Commissioner for England signalling her support.
Dame Rachel de Souza had said it was important that children's rights are protected.
"I absolutely abhor, and I'm against, violence of any kind against children," she told Times Radio.
"Because children are more vulnerable than adults, I think we do need to ensure that their rights are supported."
Wales made it illegal last month for parents to hit kids, meaning any type of corporal punishment - including smacking, slapping and shaking, has been made illegal.
Scotland had already brought brought in a ban in November 2020.
But parents in England and Northern Ireland still have a defence of “reasonable punishment” if, for example, they do not leave a red mark or use an implement like a cane or belt.
Whether the defence is accepted depends on the circumstances of each case.
Critics of Wales’ law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh Government has insisted the move is about protecting children's rights.
And Labour’s leader - a former Director of Public Prosecutions - called for other areas to follow suit.
"What it does is give children the protection that adults already have, and that is the right thing," he told reporters.
"I would like to see the rest of the UK step into line here, because I think, well, Welsh Labour have taken a lead here and they're absolutely right to protect children in the way that they now have."
Announcing Wales’ ban last month, Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child makes it clear that children have the right to be protected from harm and from being hurt and this includes physical punishment.
"That right is now enshrined in Welsh law. No more grey areas. No more 'defence of reasonable punishment'. That is all in the past."
A survey commissioned by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found more than two-thirds of adults in England believe it is wrong for parents or carers to physically punish their child, with 58% thinking it was already illegal.
More than 60 nations worldwide have legislated against the physical punishment of children.
