An old video clip of Ian Hislop challenging Priti Patel‘s support for the death penalty has gone viral on social media.
The resurfaced clip comes as Patel announced her candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
Patel, known for her hard-line stance on immigration and law and order, is positioning herself as the candidate who can unite the party and lead it back to electoral success.
Patel’s announcement comes at a critical time for the Conservative Party, which has been struggling to find its footing after a series of electoral setbacks. The party has been plagued by infighting and a lack of direction, and many within the party believe that Patel’s leadership could provide the much-needed stability and direction.
In the death penalty video, from a 2011 episode of BBC’s “Question Time,” shows Hislop dissecting Patel’s argument in favour of capital punishment. Patel, who was a guest on the show, suggested that the death penalty could serve as a deterrent for “murderers, rapists, and people who have committed the most abhorrent crimes in society.”
Hislop countered Patel’s claims by highlighting the numerous cases of wrongful convictions for murder that had been exposed by Private Eye over the years. He argued that innocent people would be executed if the death penalty were reintroduced.
“We would have killed those people, and in some of those very high-profile cases which involve terrorism cases, we would have made very dangerous new martyrs by executing people who turned out not to have committed the murders involved,” Hislop stated.
Patel defended her stance by emphasising the importance of having “strong deterrents” to prevent crime. However, Hislop retorted, “It’s not a deterrent killing the wrong people.”
The death penalty for murder in the UK was abolished permanently in 1969, and for all crimes in 1998. The resurfacing of this clip highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the death penalty and Patel’s position on the issue as she seeks to lead the Conservative Party.
You can watch the clip below:
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