Comments by the actor Dennis Waterman have been described in the House of Commons by Glasgow South MP Tom Harris as “disgraceful”.

The star of “Minder” and “The Sweeney” admitted to Piers Morgan that he had slapped and punched his ex-wife Rula Lenska, and claimed it was “not difficult for a woman to make a man hit her”.

Waterman said that because Miss Lenska was a “strong, intelligent' woman who could argue, he resorted to “lashing out” to stop her. He added: “She certainly wasn't a beaten wife, she was hit and that's different.”

In the Commons, Tom had already tabled a question to the Attorney General: “What recent assessment he has made of the role of special domestic violence courts in improving prosecution rates for domestic violence.”

In his follow-up question, Tom referred to Waterman’s comments and challenged the government to make sure that vital services provided by the special domestic violence courts in England are not lost during the current shake-up of the service.

Watch Tom’s question and the government’s answer below.