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 Tory Party said his position was not the view of the government.

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, 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.

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, who is an expert in the views of political party members, said Mr Anderson was "almost certainly speaking for the majority of Conservatives".

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

Children's Minister Claire Coutinho said she did not agree with Mr Anderson's position on the death penalty but was a "big fan" of the new deputy chairman.

"What I think people respond to when it comes to Lee is he does speak his mind. And I think it's really important that we have people who have lots of different opinions," she told LBC Radio.

"And that's one of the things I like about the Conservative Party frankly, because we are very good at living alongside each other even when we disagree."

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.

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