Hanging By A Thread

Not even Peter Hitchens has used the case of Wayne Couzens to call for the return of capital punishment. I can assure him, if he does not already know, that people close to the Blair Government vocally ached in private to bring back the death penalty in those days. A member of the then Chief Whip's staff once even threatened me with it. Hitchens understands that people with views such as his would be very near the front of the queue to be hanged.

And not only to be hanged. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will soon join the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act on the Statute Book. Following the conviction of Couzens, following the victory of Kate Wilson, and even with very little chance of becoming law, a Private Member's Bill needs to be introduced with the single clause, "The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act 2021 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2021 are hereby repealed."

Watch the Government and most of its backbenchers vote against that. Watch the Official Opposition frontbench and most of its backbenchers abstain. Smoke them out.