Spare the Rod

Not for the first time - or last I imagine - a politician has said something completely barmy - something that made me laugh, but also to question the calibre of people we have running the country.

David Lammy - a former education minister and Labour MP for Tottenham - is claiming that Labour's decision to tighten up the law on smacking children - was partly to blame for last summer's riots.

Which started in London and spread quickly - to other English towns and cities.

In an interview with LBC Radio, Lammy said:

"Many of my constituents came up to me after the riots and blamed the Labour government, saying: 'You guys stopped us being able to smack our children.'

"I have to say when this was first raised with me I was pretty disparaging. But I started to listen. These parents are scared to smack their children and paranoid that social workers will get involved and take their children away."

Lammy admitted to smacking his three- and five-year-old sons - and argued that working-class parents should be able to physically discipline their children - to prevent them from joining gangs and getting involved in knife crime.

Now I imagine these comments are designed to help publicise a book David Lammy has written - 'Out of the Ashes: After the Riots' - because why else would an otherwise intelligent man speak such drivel.

Smacking young children - in certain circumstances - is a quite different issue from beating a child and the difference between the two is obvious - or should be.

And as a parent myself - I can't see for the life of me how a smack would deter a young teenager from joining a gang - or carrying a knife.

Seems that some people will do anything to draw attention to themselves.

But as far as pathetic excuses go - that's the most ridiculous one I've heard in a long, long time.