I am clear that there is no place for this dangerous and harmful practice in the UK. I am disappointed that nearly two years after first pledging to ban this practice, the Government has not yet done so.
I wrote to the Government to press it on this issue. The Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, has recently replied to this letter. You can read her response in full by clicking the pdf link below.
I will continue working with my frontbench Labour colleagues to urge the Government to introduce a swift ban on this practice.