MPs to debate petition calling for ban on convicted terrorists running for office after pro-Gaza case
Debate, follows the recent case of Shahid Butt, a convicted terrorist who stood as a pro-Gaza candidate in Birmingham
MPs are set to debate a petition calling for a new legal disqualification preventing individuals convicted of terrorism offences—either in the UK or abroad—from standing as candidates or holding elected office.
The debate, scheduled for Monday, follows the recent case of Shahid Butt, a convicted terrorist who stood as a pro-Gaza candidate in Birmingham.
Butt, who was jailed for his role in an armed terror plot in Yemen, was able to run in the Sparkhill ward because his conviction occurred more than 25 years ago. He was not elected as a councillor in the May 7 poll.
Currently, UK electoral law only bars individuals from running in local elections if they have received a prison sentence of three months or more within the five years preceding polling day.
An e-petition, which has attracted nearly 204,000 signatures, states: “Introduce a new legal disqualification so people convicted of terrorism offences (in the UK or abroad) cannot stand as candidates or hold elected office, including local councils.”
John Lamont MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, will open the debate, while Alison McGovern MP, Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, is expected to respond for the Government.
In its response to e-petition 759385 on May 6, the Government stated: “We currently have no plans to change the disqualification criteria for these offences. We keep the UK’s broader counter terrorism framework under constant review to ensure it is fit for purpose.”
Earlier this year, both Labour and Conservative politicians voiced concerns about Butt’s suitability when he announced his candidacy as an independent.
Butt commented: “If they think I’m an extremist, then I can’t change that opinion—at the end of the day it comes down to the people of Sparkhill.”
Butt was one of eight Britons and two Algerians convicted in Yemen in 1999 for plotting to blow up an Anglican church and a Swiss-owned hotel. The prosecution argued these plots were part of a militant campaign to drive Western influence out of Yemen and establish an Islamic state. The judge rejected claims that confessions were obtained under torture. Butt, then 33, was sentenced to five years in prison.