Theresa May urged to ‘reinstate the Treason Act’ and put terrorists away for life in UK
THERESA MAY is being urged to “revive” the Treason Act so terror killers and hate preachers can be locked up for LIFE.
MPs called for the original 1351 legislation to be brought in to the modern age so murderers such as Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh could in future be tried in Britain.
Tory rising star Tom Tugendhat said it was wrong Home Secretary Sajid Javid had been forced to “export justice” to the US in the case of the ‘Beatles’ because of holes in UK law.
And he said all those who ‘undermine’ the nation by siding with enemies should face a new charge of “betraying Britain”.
Some 80 people imprisoned for terror offences between 2006 and 2017 – including hate preacher Anjem Choudary – are due to be released this year.
Mr Tugendhat said that under a new Treason Law they would be “imprisoned for life and the UK would be considerably safer”.
Under the proposal a person could be charged for aiding a hostile state or organisation - if they atack the UK, help carry out an attack, impede the Armed Forces or endanger life.
The call was backed by Labour’s Khalid Mahmood, former army officer Patrick Hennessey in a report for Westminster think tank Policy Exchange.
Mr Mahmood said: “The sentences of imprisonment imposed on British citizens who choose to aid ISIS, or similar groups, are often manifestly inadequate.
“The problem is not that sentencing judges are too lenient but that the legal framework is too limited.
“Punishing treason properly is important to signal clearly that our communities condemn betrayal. Sentencing traitors to life imprisonment would recognise the gravity of the wrong they have committed and would help protect the public.”
The Treason Act introduced in the 14th century remains on the statute book.
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But the MPs claim the law as stands fails to mark out and punish the wrong of betraying the UK.
The last person to be convicted under the 1351 Act was William Joyce, known as Lord Haw Haw, who was found guilty of assisting Nazi Germany.
In 2008, former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith claimed the scope of each element of the law of treason was so unclear it was almost impossible to apply in a modern context.
'Treason isn’t just about betrayal, it’s about identity'
By Tom Tugendhat - Tory MP and chair of cross-party Foreign Affairs Committee
We all know what treason is. We recognise it when we see it.
Whether a terrorist attack on the UK by one of our own, or someone using our own freedoms against us, we know betrayal. We’ve seen it all too often.
So why won’t the government prosecute? Why are people – the jihadis in Syria for example – being sent to the US to face justice instead of being put on trial here by the people they have tried to harm?
One reason is that our laws are out of date. The Treason Act of 1351 was written to protect Edward II, and guarantee his children would inherit his kingdom.
Today power has shifted. It doesn’t come from the monarch anymore but from the people. We need the law to show this.
That’s why I’ve written a report for Policy Exchange on updating the laws on treason. We need new laws that give us the ability to try those who betray us here, in the UK, instead of exporting them to the US to face justice.
We shouldn’t be allowing foreigners to execute our criminals when the correct penalty is available to our own judges.
This new law would be written for a modern Britain. Any British citizen, and anyone who lived in the UK, would be recognised as having a duty to their fellow citizens.
If they betrayed them, that would be a crime on top of any crime of violence. And if it was serious enough, it could put them in prison for life.
Some will say that the counter-terror laws are strong enough already. That’s not the point. They are about the violence.
This law is about recognising that wherever you come from, whatever religion you follow or culture you come from, the fact that you are British gives you rights – and duties.
And those duties matter.
If preachers of hate, like Anjem Choudary, swear allegiance to ISIS, they aren’t just threatening us, they’re causing some to doubt that they were ever truly British.
They’re allowing people to claim that some groups aren’t really part of our society. The law should be clear on this – they are.
And just as every citizen benefits from the freedoms of our society, so they owe a duty to every other British citizen regardless of colour or creed.
Treason isn’t just about betrayal, it’s about identity. By calling for a new law on treason, we’re making one thing clear – we all owe a duty to each other. We are one, United Kingdom.
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