GB News host Bev Turner has said that a ban on smacking in England and Northern Ireland would "neglect genuine child abuse" as doctors have been calling for a change in the law.
Paediatricians have called for a total ban on hitting children amid concerns over "grey areas".
The paediatricians want the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, to change the law before the general election, expected later this year.
However, Bev said that she believes that this would only cause children to be "more physically violent".
Bev Turner said that we have more violent children now
GB News
She explained: "We have never had less physical discipline of children from parents as we do now.
"We have never had more physically violent children. So join the dots."
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She added: "Also, when you think about what happened last night with the smoking vote in the Commons, if Sunak and the Conservative Government bow down to this pressure from these paediatricians, it yet again gives in to the idea that the Conservatives are big state, 'we will interfere in your family and tell you what you can and can't do'."
Co-host Andrew Pierce agreed with her and said: "It's gone through in Wales and Scotland where they've got devolved governments, the SNP in Scotland and Labour in Wales.
"I hope they tell the paediatricians to clear off.
"Could these doctors just spend more time seeing people who are watching this programme and listening to this programme, so they can get an appointment rather than delivering long-winded political statements?"
Doctors have called for smacking to be banned
PABev said: "The other thing is, of course, if you call all discipline of children a light smack, if you call that physical violence, you neglect giving attention to genuine child abuse, where kids are being beaten up at home because it all just comes into one banner and it's not the same."
Professor Andrew Rowland, a consultant paediatrician and RCPCH officer for child protection, told the ITV that physical punishment could result in a child having believing that violence was accepted and this could “lead to further instances of violence and harm later in life”.
He 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.”
He added that the “vague nature of the laws makes it extremely challenging” to talk to families about what the rules are.
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.
