Labour accuse Sajid Javid of 'playing with the lives' of Isis Beatles in death penalty row
4 min read
Sajid Javid has been accused by Labour of "secretly and unilaterally" ditching Britain's opposition to the death penalty, after it emerged that he will not object to the United States executing two jihadi fighters.
The Home Secretary has written to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to make clear that the UK will not demand any "assurances" that captured Isil fighters Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh - part of the notorious "Beatles" group of Islamist terrorists - are spared the death penalty.
The pair, who held British citizenship, were captured by the US earlier this year and are believed to be behind a string of high-profile killings in Syria, including the beheading of journalist James Foley.
In a letter to Mr Sessions, seen by the Telegraph, the Home Secretary agreed to share intelligence with the United States, writing: "I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific case, so no such assurances will be sought."
But Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti has accused the Home Secretary of "playing with the lives" of the two men, and warned the move could set a precedent.
"Sajid Javid appears to have secretly and unilaterally abandoned Britain’s opposition to the death penalty," she said. "By doing so he is not just playing with the lives of these particular terrorists but those of other Britons - including potentially innocent ones - all over the world.
"Just as we should be persuading countries like the US and Iran to drop the death penalty, Sajid Javid appears to be encouraging this grave human rights abuse."
'HARD CASES MAKE BAD LAW'
Meanwhile, Crispin Blunt - the former chair of Parliament's cross-party Foreign Affairs Committee and an ex-justice minister - also expressed reservations, saying he was "slightly anxious" about a move that could lead to "bad law".
He told Sky News: "Of course, one's immediate instinct is, given the activities these guys were engaged in, yeah, what the hell, let's send them over to the United States and face the full force of American justice, if that's where they're going to end up in court.
"But we have rules and laws for a reason. And as they say, hard cases make bad law."
He added: "I think obviously this poses really decisions that people have got to make about, instinctively, where they have got to be, and actually a cold reflection on exactly the values we stand for and it's very difficult to make exceptions in cases of some pretty awful people like these two, but that's what the law is for."
Lord Carlile, the former indepependent reviewer of terrorism legislation, also questioned the "dramatic change of policy", which he said appeared to have been drawn up "secretly, without any discussion in parliament".
The ex-terror watchdog told the Today programme: "It flies in the face of what has been said repeatedly and recently by the Home Office - including when Theresa May was Home Secretary - and very recently by the highly respected security minister, Ben Wallace.
He said: "Britain has always said that it will pass information and intelligence, in appropriate cases, provided there is no death penalty. That is a decades-old policy and it is not for the home secretary to change that policy."
The UK outlawed the death penalty in 1965, and the fate of the two terrorists has been the subject of a diplomatic wrangle, with some arguing that they should be tried in the UK because of their citizenship.
But the Telegraph's report makes clear that Mr Javid believes it would be better for the pair to be tried in the US, while further leaked documents suggest the UK will also not oppose the jihadi duo's possible transfer to the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison facility.
The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "It’s a long-standing position of the Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.
"The decision was taken by the Home Secretary and the former Foreign Secretary following the advice of lawyers and officials and the PM was made aware - yes."
Asked if the Prime Minister had personally approved it, he said: "It’s everyone’s aim to make sure these men face justice through a criminal prosecution.
"We are continuing to engage with the US government on this issue and our priority is to make sure that these men face criminal prosecution. We want to make sure that they face justice in the most appropriate jurisdiction which maximises the chances of a successful prosecution and we continue to talk to the US government about it."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We continue to engage with the US government on this issue, as we do on a range of national security issues and in the context of our joint determination to tackle international terrorism and combat violent extremism
"The UK government’s position on Guantánamo Bay is that the detention facility should close."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
