THE legal minimum age to get married in England and Wales could be raised to 18 under backbench legislation being tabled by Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid.

Mr Javid said he will be introducing a private member’s Bill this week to protect vulnerable teenagers from religious and cultural pressures to marry too young.

Currently 16-year-olds may marry if they have the consent of their parents.

However, Mr Javid has criticised the legal age limit, telling The Times newspaper that 'the law recognises that 18 is the age of adulthood' as 'children under the age of 18 in our country are not permitted to buy fireworks, get a tattoo or sign up for a credit card.'

He said: “The British Government is working tirelessly to end child marriage in the developing world and yet our own laws are permitting child marriage by the back door."

“Indeed, when Bangladesh lowered the legal age of marriage from 18 to 16, ministers there were said to have directly pointed to our laws to justify their move.

“It’s clear that we must legislate to close this loophole so that vulnerable children cannot be pushed into such serious and life-changing commitments before they are ready.”

Mr Javid said he had looked into changing the law when he was home secretary in Theresa May’s government having seen examples of the practice in his own community.

He said: “I’ve seen this myself in the community I was raised in, young girls expected to enter into marriage far before they were ready to, with painful consequences,”

“Let’s call this what it is: child abuse.”

The former chancellor told said he was “optimistic” the measure would receive government support – giving it a strong chance of becoming law.

Javed Khan, CEO of Barnardo's, said: "It is still legal for children aged 16 and 17 to marry under a law that dates back to before the Second World War.

"We know that some children are being coerced into marriage, and this can result in them missing out on education and becoming victims of domestic abuse and other harm.

"Currently, the onus is on them, as children, to speak out against the marriage, often against their own families.

"We welcome efforts by Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP to close this loophole and help protect vulnerable children from harm."