Male circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin. The foreskin is a retractable fold of skin that covers the end of the penis. Sometimes, there may be a medical reason for performing a circumcision - for example, to prevent the foreskin from becoming infected (balanoposthitis) in individuals who do not respond to antibiotics.

Female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, as it's more accurately known, has no medical benefits and is illegal under British law.

The history of circumcision

Circumcision is thought to be one of the oldest medical procedures in human history. There is evidence that circumcision was practised as far back as at least 6,000BC.

Many cultures have practised circumcision for a number of reasons including:

• as a mark of religious and cultural identity,

• as a rite of passage into adulthood,

• as an act of purification, and

• as a symbolic offering to God (or ‘the gods’).

Ritual circumcision is still routine in the Jewish and Islamic faiths. Both religions have a long-standing tradition that all boys should be circumcised shortly after birth (in Judaism), or at some point during childhood (in Islam).

Routine circumcision of all boys, regardless of religious faith, became widespread in England during the nineteenth century.  However, many members of the medical community argued that it had no medical benefit in the majority of cases and when the NHS was founded in 1946, it refused to fund circumcision.

According to current NHS guidelines, circumcision for religious or cultural reasons should only be carried out and paid for on a private basis.

Today, outside of the Islamic and Jewish communities, circumcision is uncommon in the UK. However, it a remains a more widespread practice in other countries, such as the US.