'Ma'am, please step out of the vehicle'... The fascist net closes in.
Smoking in a car that is carrying children could be banned within days after the Lords threw its weight behind a controversial plan to outlaw the practice.
Peers last night unexpectedly backed the Labour move, which would give ministers the power to make it a criminal offence in England, punishable by a fine or points on a motorist's licence.
The Government had argued this would be very difficult to enforce, and might risk infringing on civil liberties. They favour an awareness campaign to highlight the dangers of smoking around children.
But Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Labour health spokesman, persuaded colleagues it was a matter of child protection and crucial for the future.
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, a former president of the Royal Society of Medicine, said: 'A child in the back seat is effectively imprisoned in the vehicle for their own safety. Whatever adults do they have no control over.'
Comment: We have little doubt that the group's name is representative of its members!