Rupert Lowe has called for a referendum on reinstating the death penalty in the UK.
Speaking at PMQs this week, the former Reform UK MP spoke about putting the question to the public after recent incidents.
Watch the moment here:
The Great Yarmouth MP said: “We hear of a brutal murder, rape or stabbing, far too often perpetrated by someone who should not be in our country to begin with.
“Does the Prime Minister agree that for cases where the guilt is so undeniable, the crime so monstrous, the evil so irredeemable, the reintroduction of the death penalty for both foreign and domestic criminals should be put to the British people in a legally binding referendum?”
The question prompted widespread groans and displeasure in the house, with Keir Starmer then responding with a measured response.
He replied: “Can I first say that any attack is to be condemned, and it is absolutely right, and we’re determined that there is a criminal justice response in relation to attack however it’s carried out and whoever it’s carried out by.
“But reintroducing the death penalty is not the answer to this. It didn’t work when it was in place. It led to the death of those that in fact were turned out were innocent. But what we must do is improve, as we are, the criminal justice response in this country.”
Reacting on social media, Lowe was condemned for the question: