Move to axe 'music hall joke' laws

Lord Young, who has been asked by Prime Minister David Cameron to lead a Whitehall-wide review of health and safety laws, said that over the past 10 to 12 years a "nanny state" had developed.

"There is no question, in any dangerous occupation, in any place where people are in danger, health and safety rules will apply," he said. "But there are so many parts of life where it is an absolute nonsense. If there were still music halls, it would be a music hall joke."

The former trade and industry secretary under Margaret Thatcher listed examples such as restaurants banning toothpicks on health and safety grounds and a pancake race where contestants were asked to walk as it had been raining.

He added another example was of a school where pupils were taught to put on make-up but were told the make-up person could not use wipes to remove it because of health and safety.

He added that bureaucracy surrounding health and safety had risen "alarmingly", with teachers refusing to take pupils on school trips because of the red tape Lord Young is expected to report to Downing Street in the summer.