Sir Michael Caine leads call for Starmer to ban smacking

20 comments

1. ***The Telegraph reports:***

   [Sir Michael Caine](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/michael-caine/) has urged Sir Keir Starmer to “lead with courage and compassion” and ban smacking.

   The award-winning actor joined [Alan Shearer](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/06/21/shearer-voice-people-brutal-england-commentary-roy-keane/), the former England footballer, and a number of other celebrities to sign a letter that was handed in to Downing Street on Monday.

   Sir Michael, 92, who appeared in Zulu, Interstellar and The Italian Job, has previously spoken about being [locked in a cupboard](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/9931161/Sir-Michael-Caine-I-distrust-everyone-after-I-was-locked-in-a-cupboard-as-a-child.html) as a child for two days when he was evacuated from London during the Second World War.

   He described it as a “mild form of child abuse” that left him with a “mark on his psyche” for the rest of his life.

   The letter’s signatories, including actors [Natalie Dormer](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/game-thrones-natalie-dormer-life-lockdown-hollywood-will-never/) and [Samantha Morton](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/samantha-morton-homeless-suffer-ptsd-have-major-panic-attacks/), argue that in England, where smacking is not completely outlawed, children have less protection from physical harm than adults.

   Wales made any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, illegal in March 2022, while Scotland introduced a similar ban in November 2020.

   However, according to the Children Act 2004 which applies in England, it is unlawful to hit your child, except where it is “reasonable punishment”, and this is judged on a case-by-case basis.

   There is also a similar defence to smacking in Northern Ireland.

   The letter, [co-ordinated by the NSPCC](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/nspcc/), called the defence “outdated and damaging” and stated that smacking has “no place in 21st century England”.

   It said: “We believe that it is never ‘reasonable’ to hit a child.

   “It is harm, plain and simple. And the current law sends a dangerous message that striking a child can be excused.”

   Addressing Sir Keir directly, the signatories said: “Prime Minister, this is your opportunity to be brave and lead with courage and compassion.

   “We ask you to stand up, alongside us, for every child’s right to safety, dignity and respect. It’s time to end the physical punishment of children in England, for good.”

   Campaigners hope the ban can be made law through an amendment to the [Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/19/bridget-phillipsons-education-bill-is-an-abuse-of-state-pow/), which is currently making its way through Parliament.

   **Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/14/sir-michael-caine-leads-call-for-starmer-to-ban-smacking/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/14/sir-michael-caine-leads-call-for-starmer-to-ban-smacking/)

2. Ban snacking, encourage the belt

3. If a 92 year old man, who lived through the eras where child smacking was condoned and even encouraged, is saying we should ban it, that should be cause to listen.

   When that man is Michael Caine, you should listen extra hard.

4. Last time he raised his head was in the brexit debacle and that didn’t go well either

5. How about we ban smacking unnecessarily? You can’t teach a 2 year old not to put his finger in a plug socket without a gentle tap on the hand to say it will hurt.

   Any one who was raised by good parents will tell you, there is a time and a place for a smack and in retrospect I don’t begrudge a single one I got when I was being a shitbag.

6. Starms is a tad busy, currently, trying to stop a bill that will make it illegal for cousins to marry.

7. This is something that puts me on edge.

   On one hand, it’s absolutely true that physical punisment can be abusive. On the other hand, it can be effective method of correction. The problem is, that some people might use it punitively instead of correctively.

   >*Sir Michael, 92, who appeared in Zulu, Interstellar and The Italian Job, has previously spoken about being locked in a cupboard as a child for two days when he was evacuated from London during the Second World War.*

   *He described it as a “mild form of child abuse” that left him with a “mark on his psyche” for the rest of his life.*

   This isn’t “mild form of child abuse” what the fuck. Locking a child in a cupboard with no room to move is clearly torture. Doing it in this day and age would lead to prison sentence – which is appropriate. I’m sure this is gonna leave him with marks on psyche.

   But I doubt that for example, a flick on the back of the hand when you bust a 2 year old trying to stuff a fork into an outlet is going to leave them with a life-long trauma. What are you to do? Explain how electricity is dangerous to a child that has just learned to utter few words?

   No, I don’t agree reaching for the belt for all kinds of mistakes is acceptable.

   Moreover, this is going to be a question of what is going to be classed as physical punishment. Will a 20 minute timeout in bedroom count as unlawful kidnapping? Can the child call cops on parents for being grounded? If you want to confiscate their phone or tablet and they refuse, will forcibly taking it count as robbery? Sounds freaking stupid, but it really can go this way. Parental authority and guidance is the single most important factor determining will the kid go to prison or live a normal life.

   I wholeheartedly think that child abuse is not acceptable and we must continue work to keep abusive parents accountable. However, this might be another one of those “WE MUST PROTECT THE CHILDREN” that’s going to backfire. We need to be able to separate corrective discipline from punitive violence.

   EDIT: Clarifying something I see a lot in the comments. Of course talking corrections and education are the most important things. Physical correction used in punitive manner, especially retaliatory like for “talking back” crosses the line of abuse in my opinion. That’s not about correction, that’s about parents ego. I focused on physical part of it, because this is what conversation is about. Just because I think flick on the hand is acceptable, doesn’t mean that 99.9% of education isn’t about talking, listening and connecting with your child. People tend to get emotional and see this as a black and white type of problem, when just like many things in life, it’s not.

8. I thought they banned it under the Tories

9. Lol. How irrelevant is this? People stopped disciplining children decades ago, and we have suffered ever since from its sickening effects.

10. But will we still be able to throw bloody spears?

11. There are always alternatives to hitting and they’re all way more effective and less damaging.

    Not to mention the level of scumbag parents I see daily on the school run, the thought of them being able to hit their kids is mind boggling considering they speak to them like pure shit out in public without a care as it is.

    I see adults who are 30/40 talking to their 5 year olds like they despise them, last week a woman was walking away from her 6 year old daughter in a strop repeatedly saying “shut the fuck up, don’t fucking talk to me”

12. FGM laws unenforced but lets ban smacking.

13. People who hit their children are cunts.

    Ok?

14. Pleasantly surprised to hear this from Michael Caine

15. She was only 16 years old!

16. To people who support this – I have a question!

    How do you propose to police it?

    Currently, anyone who works with children is required to look-out for any form of abuse and report that accordingly.

    That system isn’t perfect but it exists and there are wide-ranging powers available to deal with potential abuse – it doesn’t always work but it’s there already.

    This is one of those “sounds like a good idea but isn’t remotely practical/useful or policeable” things – sounds like the right thing to do BUT a law like that wouldn’t really work…

    At best a few people might get the idea that physically discipline is bad – maybe – probably not tho, I think most people know that already tbh

    At worst people will just hide it better…

    There is this idea people have that banning things will fix stuff – I cannot think of a single thing we’ve ever banned which has magically solved the perceived problem – plenty of cases of making it worse tho

17. I honestly thought it was banned already.

18. So many teens and adults in society today that could’ve done with a smack when they were kids.

19. Mildly disappointed. For a brief moment I thought there might be a slim chance to outlaw people chewing with their mouth open in public.

20. The amount in this thread that think the only way to discipline or teaching a child is through hitting hitting them.

    Like… I’m really at the point where people are so ingrained in their beliefs from centuries ago and aren’t willing to change.

    Closed mindedness and ignorance abound, whilst abuse and trauma are commonplace.

    Your only analysis of this is “unruly kids on our streets”. Yet you have no care for the impact of abuse, nor of learning ways to do this that won’t involve violence.

    Just for the record. My dad used to smack. Unfortunately that didn’t work, like it doesn’t in most cases and he resorted to more violence.

    I lost a 17 year old brother to suicide as a result of that.

    Chee on that whilst you here saying smacking not an issue.

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