Lee Anderson: New Tory deputy chairman would support return of death penalty

The new deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, has said he would support the return of the death penalty.

In an interview with the Spectator before he was appointed to the role, he argued "nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed".

The PM said neither he nor the government shared Mr Anderson's stance.

But Labour accused Rishi Sunak of not being strong enough to stand up to what it called Mr Anderson's "nonsense".

In the interview, conducted a few days before he was made deputy chairman on Tuesday but published after his appointment, Mr Anderson was asked whether he would support the return of the death penalty.

In response, he said: "Yes. Nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed."

"100% success rate," he added.

The MP for Ashfield suggested heinous crimes - such as the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby by Islamist extremists in 2013 - where the perpetrators are clearly identifiable, should be punishable by the death penalty.

He told the magazine: "You'll get the certain groups saying: 'You can never prove it.'

"Well, you can prove it if they have videoed it and are on camera - like the Lee Rigby killers. I mean: they should have gone, same week. I don't want to pay for these people."

The death penalty for murder in the UK was permanently abolished in 1965, while it ended for all crimes in 1998.

The UK is signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, which forbids the restoration of the death penalty.

A recent YouGov survey suggested 30% of people believe the death penalty should be reintroduced in all cases of murder, with the figure rising to 52% in cases of multiple murder.

Prof Tim Bale, from Queen Mary University of London, said Mr Anderson was "almost certainly speaking for the majority of Conservative members".

A survey of 1,191 members, carried out as part of his work on Tory Party membership after the 2019 general election, found 53% agreed that "for some crimes, the death penalty is the most appropriate sentence".

Asked about Mr Anderson's support for bringing back the death penalty, Mr Sunak said: "That's not my view, that's not the government's view.

"But we are united in the Conservative Party in wanting to be absolutely relentless in bearing down on crime."

Tory MP Michael Fabricant said he didn't want to see a return of the death penalty but "from time to time it's worth debating".

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme he thought it was "actually quite healthy" for Mr Anderson to have different views to the government on some issues.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt was also among those to back Mr Anderson.

She told MPs he should be known as "he stands up for me Lee", rather than "30p Lee" - a nickname he gained after claiming people could make a meal from scratch for around 30p a day.

In his role, Mr Anderson will be responsible for preparing for May's local elections in England, alongside party chairman Greg Hands.

The outspoken MP has attracted controversy in the past for his views on a range of issues.

Last year he made headlines for saying people needed to learn how to cook and budget, rather than use food banks.

He has also criticised the England football team for taking the knee in protest at racism.