§ 18. Sir C. Osborneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of public concern with the increasing number of wage robberies and their greater violence, he will introduce legislation to impose flogging for such crimes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeI continue to believe that the reintroduction of corporal punishment as a judicial penalty would not be a right or effective remedy for these or other crimes.
§ Sir C. OsborneIs my right hon. Friend aware that the majority of people in this country think otherwise—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."]—despite what the "softies" opposite think? Since it is impossible to make the thugs pay, why cannot we flog them?
§ Mr. BrookeI hope that my hon. Friend is not implying that I am a "softy", because that has not been alleged against me before. The maximum penalty for the crime of armed robbery or of robbery with violence is already life imprisonment, and if that is not a sufficient deterrent I doubt whether corporal punishment would be.