Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard strongly against return of death penalty

The Conservative MP is chairman of the parliamentary group for the abolition of the death penalty.

He said he was totally against bringing back hanging, despite a poll saying that 54 per cent of grassroots Conservatives were in favour of the death penalty.

Mr Pritchard said there was a growing mood around the world that the death penalty achieved nothing.

“The death penalty is in global decline for good reasons, including miscarriages of justice, the cost to taxpayers for relentless legal appeals, errors in administering lethal injections and other problems,” he said.

“Also, the evidence is overwhelming that the death penalty has no deterrent effect.”

Telford MP Lucy Allan meanwhile said: "This issue is not part of modern day political debate to be honest.

"I have been actively involved in politics for the last 10 years and no one has ever raised the issue with me or sought to debate the issue."

Hanging for murder was initially suspended in Great Britain – but not Northern Ireland – following a private members bill by Labour MP Sydney Silverman.

The law was made permanent four years later by Home Secretary at the time, Jim Callaghan.

The death penalty remained for treason, piracy and various military offences until 1998, when it was abolished in its entirety.

The last murderers to be hanged in Great Britain were Peter Allen and Gwynne Jones, in 1964.

A total of 4,117 members of Britain’s four largest parliamentary parties – the Conservatives, Labour, SNP and the Liberal Democrats – were questioned during the research.

The report, entitled Grassroots: Britain’s Party Members, found that 54 per cent of Conservative members said they were in favour of capital punishment, compared to 23 per cent of SNP supporters, nine per cent Labour and eight per cent of Lib Dem backers.