BIG INTERVIEW: No defence for smacking - David Hinchliffe, Labour MP, Wakefield

The Labour MP for Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is introducing a private member's bill in Parliament this month to outlaw the smacking of children.

As chair of the Commons Health Committee and a long-time campaigner for the banning of smacking, Hinchliffe believes the UK has a lot to learn from Scandinavia. "Is it really a coincidence that countries such as Norway and Sweden that have outlawed smacking are the ones who have historically played a leading role in initiating peace proposals?" he says. "Sweden has banned physical punishment by parents for the past 10 years and has significantly reduced cases of child deaths in the home since. In Britain we have a child death at least once a week. It seems there is a correlation between how we treat our children and how we treat the rest of the world."