Armed Forces Bill

I said at the start of the debate that in almost no circumstances could I envisage life imprisonment being a suitable penalty. I agreed with the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Simon), who said earlier that we should have debated a provision that brought the life sentence punishment down to an intermediate level. Had there been such a provision, I could have supported it, but as we have heard, the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington would shift us toward a two-year sentence.