Parents will soon face prosecution at the hands of the British state for failing to love their children in a government-approved way.

The Telegraph has revealed that a new ‘Cinderella Law’ is set to be introduced in the Queen’s Speech to parliament in early June. The law would expand child neglect laws to cover “emotional cruelty” in the same way that physical or sexual abuse are prosecuted against.

But critics have argued that the law could result in government employees such as social workers attempting to bring proceedings against parents for simply not falling into line with their expectations. Parents found guilty of emotional cruelty could face up to 10 years in prison.

The wording of the law is said to make it a crime in the UK to deliberately harm a child’s “physical intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development”. The Telegraph states that this could include ignoring a child, or not showing them love.

Concerns may be raised as to the encroachment of bureaucrats on the family, and others have previously pointed to Britain’s laws not being able to deal with the incompetence and political correctness of those charged with enforcing them.

In 2012, Rotherham Council attempted to remove an adopted child from a foster family after it was discovered that they were members of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party.

Jack Hart, of the British libertarian pressure group The Freedom Association told Breitbart London: “This so-called Cinderella Law is yet another example of the state stepping in to criminalise parents where in fact education would be a far more powerful tool for combating harmful behaviour.

“Simply introducing swathes of new and hard-to-police legislation does not guarantee the right results. As we’ve seen in previous attempts to criminalise parents who choose to take their children on holiday during school term time, new laws do not automatically mean a change in behaviour.

“There should be a focus on helping parents who are having serious problems, not a rush to criminalise them.”