Smacking children should be banned in England and Northern Ireland, doctors say

Published

1 year ago

April 17, 2024

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Smacking children should be banned throughout the UK as current laws are “unjust and dangerously vague” – making it harder to identify when youngsters are being abused, children’s doctors have said.

In a report, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is urging ministers in England and Northern Ireland to follow the lead of Wales, where lawmakers banned any type of corporal punishment including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking in March 2022.

A similar ban has been in place in Scotland since November 2020.

Professor Andrew Rowland, a consultant paediatrician and RCPCH officer for child protection, said: “The laws around physical punishment as they stand are unjust and dangerously vague.

“They create a grey area in which some forms of physical punishment may be lawful, and some are not.”

He said he was “regularly faced with situations where it is alleged that physical punishment has been used against a child” but that the “vague nature of the laws make it extremely challenging” to talk to families about what the rules are and therefore more difficult to talk about the best interests of their children.

“This lack of legislative clarity can even add an extra layer of complexity when trying to identify cases of child abuse,” he said.

Prof Rowland said society’s views on punishment had changed over time, with a majority of adults agreeing that physical punishment of children was unacceptable.

He added “there must be no grey areas when it comes to safeguarding children” and changing the laws in England and Northern Ireland “will give us absolute clarity”.

Bess Herbert, advocacy specialist at international campaigning organisation End Corporal Punishment, said: “I hope that England and Northern Ireland will soon join the ever-growing number of countries that have taken this fundamental step in protecting children, upholding their rights, and supporting healthy and positive child raising.”

The NSPCC’s Joanna Barrett said children in England and Northern Ireland “continue to be exposed to a legal loophole that can undermine their basic right to protection under the guise of ‘reasonable chastisement'”.

But Simon Calvert, from the Be Reasonable Campaign, claimed calls for a law change “are motivated by ideology, not by clinical evidence” and elected representatives must reject them.

“The current law strongly prohibits all violence against children, while protecting parents from prosecution for innocent and harmless parenting decisions,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland department of health said changing the law will require the agreement of the Northern Ireland Executive.

“The Department of Health continues to play an important role in supporting parents and carers of children and young people and in particular to promote positive parenting behaviours,” they added.

A department for education spokesperson said: “Any form of violence towards a child is completely unacceptable and we have clear laws in place to prevent it. It is the responsibility of the parent to discipline their children, appropriately and within the boundaries of the law.

“We are supporting teachers, social workers and all safeguarding professionals to spot the signs of abuse or neglect more quickly, and our statutory framework for safeguarding children in England makes clear what organisations should do to keep children safe.”

UK

Manhunt after five people stabbed at event in southeast London

Published

5 hours ago

May 17, 2025

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Manhunt after five people stabbed at event in southeast London

A manhunt has been launched after five people were stabbed at an event in southeast London, police have said.

Officers were called to Nathan Way, Thamesmead, at 4.19am on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said.

Five people were found with stab wounds and were taken to hospital where their injuries are still being assessed.

No arrests have been made.

“Enquiries are ongoing and a cordon will remain in place throughout the day,” a Met Police statement said.

Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

UK

Three Iranians charged under National Security Act after investigation by UK counter-terror police

Published

7 hours ago

May 17, 2025

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Three Iranians charged under National Security Act after investigation by UK counter-terror police

Three Iranian men have been charged with offences under the National Security Act in the UK, police have said.

The trio have been charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025, following an investigation by counter-terror police.

The Metropolitan Police said the three men are Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55.

The foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran, police said.

All three men will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday, the force added.

Sepahvand, of St John’s Wood, London, has also been charged with “surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research” with the intention of “committing serious violence against a person in the UK”, according to a police statement.

Meanwhile, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, London, and Noori, of Ealing, London, have also been charged with “engaging in conduct, namely surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others”.

Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, described the charges as “extremely serious”.

“Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock and we have worked closely with colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service to reach this point,” he said.

“Now that these men have been charged, I would urge people not to speculate about this case, so that the criminal justice process can run its course.”

A fourth Iranian national aged 31 who was arrested was released with no further action on Thursday.

In a separate unrelated probe, counter-terror officers arrested five Iranian men, aged between 29 and 46, during raids across various locations in Greater Manchester, London, and Swindon earlier this month.

Last October, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said the UK intelligence agency had responded to 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots since 2022, warning of the risk of an “increase or broadening of Iranian state aggression in the UK”.

UK

Two firefighters and one other person die after fire at former RAF base in Oxfordshire

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2025

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Two firefighters and one other person die after fire at former RAF base in Oxfordshire

Two firefighters and a member of the public have died in a large fire in Bicester, the fire service announced.

The firefighters died in the inferno at a former RAF base in Oxfordshire, which now hosts historic motoring and aviation centre Bicester Motion.

The local fire service was called to the scene at 6.39pm last night.

Chief Fire Officer Rob MacDougall said: “It is with a very heavy heart that we today report the loss of two of our firefighters. Families have been informed and are being supported.

“Our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times and we ask for privacy to be respected.

“We cannot release any details at present but will provide further information as soon as we can.”

Two other firefighters sustained serious injuries and are currently being treated in hospital, Oxfordshire County Council said in a statement.

Footage shared on social media shows plumes of smoke billowing into the sky and flames swallowing the large building.

Ten fire crews attended the incident, with four remaining at the scene. The fire is still ongoing, but it is considered under control.

Local residents were advised to remain indoors and keep their windows shut, but this advice has now been lifted.

Bicester Motion said in a statement it would be closed today and over the weekend.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

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