Lee Anderson and Rupert Lowe demand death penalty for Southport killer
EXCLUSIVE - The Reform UK MPs have both told the Express they would back a much harsher penalty for the Southport murderer than delivered by the judge.
Reform UK MPs Lee Anderson and Rupert Lowe have both backed the death penalty for Southport murder Axel Rudakubana following his sentencing this afternoon.
18-year-old Rudakubana was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years by Judge Goose this afternoon.
While the Judge insisted it is a strong enough sentence so that it is unlikely the killer will never see freedom, he was unable to impose a Whole Life Sentence - life without the opportunity of parole - because Rudakubana was under 18 at the time he committed the horrific murders.
Speaking to the Daily Express following the sentencing, two Reform UK MPs have now said the brutal killerâs fate does not go far enough, demanding a return to the death penalty.
Rupert Lowe simply said: "It is my opinion that now is the time for a national debate on the use of the death penalty in exceptional circumstances. This is an exceptional circumstance."
While the partyâs Chief Whip Lee Anderson added: âI have been consistent on the issue of the death penalty.
âThis animal has no right to breathe the same air as the rest of us.â
He went further, posting an image of a noose on X with the caption: âThis is what is required!â
Mr Justice Goose sentenced the evil Southport killer to a minimum term of 52 years behind bars. The judge said the murderer was likely to die in jail for the "sadistic" murder of the three young girls.
The 18-year-old was sentenced in his absence at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday after indicating he would be âdisruptiveâ if he was present in the courtroom.
The last instance of capital punishment in the UK took place in August 1964, when Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen were executed for murder.
The following year, Parliament passed a law suspending the death penalty across Great Britain (this did not extend to Northern Ireland) for all crimes except high treason, âpiracy with violenceâ, arson in royal dockyards, and espionage.
It was only with the Human Rights Act coming into force in 1998 that the death penalty was banned under UK law in all circumstances.
A 2022 YouGov poll has shown that 40 percent of people still support the death penalty, down from 51 percent in 2010.
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