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Ex-minister calls for reintroduction of death penalty to tackle rise in violent crime in Britain

The government, however, has dismissed the request, saying that it continues to remain opposed to the death penalty as a form of punishment across the world.

An MP in the UK is reportedly seeking a reintroduction of the death penalty into the country's legislature in an effort to combat the increasing number of violent crimes in the country. Reports state that Lincolnshire MP John Hayes, in a letter to Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke asked him if "he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to reintroduce the death penalty to tackle violent crime".

The Office for National Statistics released its latest crime figures last month for England and Wales for the year to June 2018. According to the report, there was a significant increase in violent crimes involving knives or a sharp instrument. The overall violent crime numbers, however, remained largely unchanged at 1.275 million offenses.