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Bishop Auckland MP invites Will Smith to speak to one-punch group

Conservative Party Dehenna DavisonConservative Party
Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison was 13 when her father was killed by a single punch

An MP has invited Will Smith to speak to a parliamentary group dedicated to raising awareness of the dangers of one-blow assaults.

The actor walked on stage during the Oscars ceremony and struck comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about Mr Smith's wife's medical hair loss.

Dehenna Davison's father was killed by one punch in 2007 when she was 13.

The Bishop Auckland MP said even a "lesser blow" may be enough for someone to fall and cause a brain injury.

Ms Davison is asking the star - who went on to win the Best Actor award - to hear the stories of bereaved loved ones.

Mr Smith has apologised publicly to Mr Rock while the Oscars organisers have said they are investigating.

In the letter, Ms Davison said she was a "huge fan" of Smith's work but was "very disappointed" to see him use his "substantial platform not for good, but for the promotion of violence".

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The Conservative MP said her life was "turned upside down" by her father's death and so when she became an MP she set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on One-Punch Assaults "to raise awareness about single-punch assaults, and to reinforce the message that one punch can kill".

She invited Mr Smith to speak at one of the group's meetings and "to hear the stories of those who have lost loved ones to a single punch".

Ms Davison told BBC Radio Tees she found Mr Rock's joke "pretty distasteful" but "reacting through violence was completely unjustified".

Best actor winner Will Smith took offence at a joke by presenter Chris Rock

She said: "There have been a lot of people saying what he did was a slap not a punch, but one of the things we have found is even a lesser blow can cause enough shock that someone gets disorientated, stumbles backwards, bangs their head and ends up with a fatal brain injury.

"It's not as clear-cut as it has to be a blow with the force of Rocky Balboa. It's about 'stop, think, don't raise your fist in the first place'."

Ms Davison said she did not know if she would get a response but she hoped Mr Smith would "continue to reflect on his actions and engage with us".

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