ENDING DEATH PENALTY 60 YEARS AGO WAS EARLY SYMPTOM OF SOFT-TOUCH BRITAIN

EXACTLY 60 years ago this week, Parliament outlawed the death penalty. The measure was hailed as a milestone on the road towards a more compassionate, civilised nation. But it has hardly worked out like that. Since abolition, violent crime has rocketed.

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In 1964, when the last executions were conducted, there were just 296 homicides in Britain. That figure had risen to 857 four decades later. Our streets and our prisons have become more disordered. The authority of the police is in crisis. Faith in the justice syst