Letter: Smacking children

Sir: So William Hague thinks that parents can be left to make their own decisions about how they treat their children in the privacy of their homes, without interference from the "nanny" state ("Beating of children to be outlawed", 24 September). Thank God the 25,000 children placed on child protection registers each year won't have to rely on his party for the foreseeable future to provide the resources they need to avoid injury and even death at the hands of those who are supposed to care for them. Come back Michael Portillo and "caring Conservatism", all is forgiven.

BEN WHITNEY

Stafford