But an increasing body of evidence suggests male circumcision also risks long-term damage and even death.

Between 2012 and 2022, the General Medical Council (GMC) dealt with 39 complaints relating to 30 doctors regarding circumcisions. The complaints include incidents in which children's penises were left deformed and babies required blood transfusions.

In 2011, nearly a dozen infant boys were treated for life-threatening haemorrhage, shock or sepsis as a result of circumcision at a single children's hospital in Birmingham. At least three babies bled to death from circumcision in the UK since 2009: Celian Noumbiwe, Angelo Ofori-Mintah, and Goodluck Caubergs. In 2007, a newborn baby went into cardiac arrest minutes after he was circumcised in a London synagogue, and subsequently died.

In 2015 the High Court ruled that non-therapeutic male circumcision constitutes "significant harm" under the Children Act 1989. The High Court further concluded male circumcision is "more invasive" than Type 4 FGM.

In a 2018 YouGov survey, 62% of people in the UK said they would support prohibiting circumcision of children for non-medical reasons.