A TORY MP has been condemned after expressing support for the return of the death penalty.
Brendan Clarke-Smith – the Conservative MP for Bassetlaw – shared an old clip of Margaret Thatcher stating she would back capital punishment, adding that it “has always been my personal view” and one which he would not apologise for.
He tweeted: “Nowadays I recognise this is only a philosophical debate, but this is my personal view. It has always been my personal view and it is one I make no apologies for.”
Nowadays I recognise this is only a philosophical debate, but this is my personal view. It has always been my personal view and it is one I make no apologies for. pic.twitter.com/SwwTI6cCOj
— Brendan Clarke-Smith MP (@Bren4Bassetlaw) August 21, 2023
He was slammed on social media for the comments.
Writer Simon Scarrow tweeted: “A system that is prepared to murder the wrongly convicted along with the guilty is a stain on the reputation of our country. But then, that's you Tories all over, isn't it?”
A system that is prepared to murder the wrongly convicted along with the guilty is a stain on the reputation of our country. But then, that's you Tories all over, isn't it?
— Simon Scarrow (@SimonScarrow) August 21, 2023
Bryan Elwick added: “I’d rather let a 1000 guilty men stay alive (with full life sentences) than execute 1 innocent man.
“The death penalty is not a deterrent. The US is living proof of that.
“Not apologising for supporting state sponsored murder is exactly the type of man I think you are, Brendan.”
Clarke-Smith’s comments come as Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, is expected to face the rest of her life behind bars when she is sentenced on Monday.
The nurse murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit between 2015-2016.
Letby, 33, could be handed a whole-life order by judge Mr Justice Goss at Manchester Crown Court. Whole-life orders are the most severe punishment available in the UK criminal justice system.
Her crimes have, however, let to some calls for there to be a debate surrounding bringing back capital punishment.
The death penalty for murder in the UK was outlawed permanently in 1969 and then totally abolished for all crimes in 1998.
