§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Prime Minister if he will introduce legislation to enable the United Kingdom to sign Protocol 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights on the abolition of the death penalty. [22635]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 15 January 1998]: The availability or otherwise of the death penalty is a matter for Parliament to decide on a free vote. We have no plans to sign Protocol 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which would deny Parliament the opportunity to consider the issue in the future.
The Government have supported international calls for the abolition of the death penalty because Parliament has consistently voted against re-introduction of capital punishment for murder.