Scotland's justice minister has defended his decision to propose a ban on smacking, arguing that it was an important step in reforming a "violent nation"

Jim Wallace's plan to outlaw smacking of children under three was thrown out by a committee of Scottish parliamentarians last week.

In a Stage One debate on proposals made in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, Mr Wallace said he "reluctantly" accepted the view of the committee.

However, he told the parliament: "Scotland is by any international standards a violent nation.

Jim Wallace has dropped the plan

"If we want to break the cycle of violence we can and must make a start with the young."

On other aspects of child punishment, MSPs accepted that there should be a "blanket ban" on blows to the head.

They also accepted the intention behind a ban on shaking or the use of an implement to strike children but asked for more clarification.

Mr Wallace said: "We are pleased that the committee unanimously supports measures which aim to reduce mental and physical harm to children, but disappointed that it cannot agree that there is an age below which parents should not hit their children."

The committee report was critical of plans to send some 16 and 17-year-olds to children's hearings, rather than to the courts.

MSPs dismissed proposals for victims of crime to give "impact statements" which would be available to the courts.

Mr Wallace said he intended to press ahead with the statements plan in a pilot scheme.

'Careful thought'

He said: "It is clear however that we need to give careful thought to detailed matters of procedure and we will do this through the work of the steering group which will take the implementation of the pilot scheme forward."

He also defended the idea behind the pilot plan for children's hearings to take some older offenders.

"Nevertheless I recognise that the committee has had difficulty in accepting proposals for the pilots in their present form," he said.

"I have agreed with cabinet colleagues that I will review the issue further and report back before Stage 2."

Roseanna Cunningham: "Mish-mash"

The minister pointed out that MSPs had given "broad support" for 67 of the Bill's 70 sections.

Scottish National Party justice spokeswoman Roseanna Cunningham dubbed the Bill "a mish-mash of miscellaneous measures".

She also targeted Mr Wallace for going back on proposals to shut Peterhead Prison.

Ms Cunningham said: "This Bill, because of the way it has been introduced by the justice minister, merely confirms my view that his credibility is in tatters.

"He has been forced to climb down over Peterhead and now his flagship Criminal Justice Bill has been savaged by the committee report."

'Vast increase'

On the withdrawal of plans to ban smacking, Ms Cunningham said: "Here we were supposedly trying to introduce something the police didn't want and feared would vastly increase their workload and parents didn't want."

Bill Aitken, Tory justice spokesman, said that although his party backed sections of the legislation such as increased penalties for the possession of child porn, it was "a bad Bill" overall.

The parliament today backed the general principles of the Bill by 89 votes to 19, with three abstentions.