I've taken the state hostage: Axe killer's radio boast in his campaign to win the vote for prisoners

I've taken the state hostage: Axe killer's radio boast in his campaign to win the vote for prisoners

By Jason Groves
Last updated at 11:52 PM on 8th February 2011

Defiant: Axe killer John Hirst said he had taken Parliament 'hostage' and boasted MPs were powerless to block his campaign to win prisoners the vote

An axe killer last night boasted MPs were powerless to block his campaign to win prisoners the vote.

John Hirst, who hacked his landlady to death, said he had taken Parliament ‘hostage’ and was on the verge of forcing the Government to ‘wave the white flag of surrender’.

In incredible comments, he claimed he had achieved a triple victory over Parliament, ministers and the British courts by persuading European judges to make them give prisoners the vote.

He boasted in a radio interview: ‘I fought the state, the three arms of the state and I have taken them all hostage. So they have got to now wave the white flag of surrender.

‘Once a surrender is sorted out properly, politically as well as we have done with the legal one, then it comes down to the terms of the surrender.

‘It has never been the case throughout history that the loser dictates the terms. They have just got to accept that. The United Kingdom has been before the court and been judged to be guilty.

‘They must now pay the penalty. You can’t go breaking the law and expect not to pay the penalty.’

Hirst, who served 25 years in jail, also called for prisoners to be shown more respect, adding: ‘Instead of calling prisoners monsters and rapists and paedophiles, call them human beings.’

But hundreds of MPs remain poised to back an extraordinary Commons motion tomorrow night calling on the Government to ignore the rulings by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and maintain the ban on prison votes.

David Davis, who has led the backbench revolt, said Hirst’s comments would only stiffen their resolve.

‘Hirst’s crimes and his character symbolise everything that is wrong about giving prisoners the vote,’ said the former shadow home secretary. ‘His latest outburst is little more than bluster and demonstrates only too clearly how unacceptable this proposal is.’

Ministers have reluctantly said they will look to give a ‘minimum’ number of prisoners the vote in order to avoid a potential compensation bill put at more than £100million.

David Cameron has given his MPs a free vote on the issue tomorrow and told his ministers to abstain.

Labour’s shadow cabinet is also now expected to abstain, although former home secretaries Jack Straw and Alan Johnson have indicated they will vote to stop prisoners participating in elections.

Mr Davis insisted there was no question of surrender.

‘Parliament will come to a considered decision on Thursday and then Government will have to respond in a proper and democratic way, as I hope will the European Court of Human Rights,’ he said.

Priti Patel, a Tory MP who has launched a national petition against giving prisoners the vote, described Hirst’s comments as outrageous.

‘This illustrates the fundamental problem here – why are we looking to give dangerous convicted criminals like this the freedom to vote?’ she asked.

‘It is not for a convicted criminal with the help of European judges to be bullying our Parliament. It makes a mockery of everything we do in Parliament.

‘We have to stand up to Europe on this and defend the sovereignty of Parliament from people like this and unelected judges in Strasbourg.’

Hirst was jailed for manslaughter in 1980. He hit his landlady up to seven times with the axe after she asked him to go outside and fetch coal for the fire. He was released from jail in 2004.



Outraged MPs: Priti Patel, who has launched a petition against giving prisoners the vote, described Hirst’s comments as outrageous, while David Davis, who has led the backbench revolt, said Hirst’s comments would only stiffen their resolve

His campaign has enraged ministers and raised fresh questions about whether Britain should withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg court, which is the final arbiter of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Government announced last year that prisoners jailed for less than four years would be given the vote – a category covering 1,800 offenders jailed for violent and sex offences.

Government sources have since suggested only those serving sentences of less than a year might be given a vote. But legal experts have warned that this would not be enough to satisfy the Strasbourg court.

Yesterday it emerged that ex-gratia payments to prisoners doubled from £1.6million in 2009 to £3.2million last year, although officials insisted this covered the full range of claims by prisoners. In a move that will put further pressure on ministers to defy Europe, MPs are also set to back a separate motion to refuse to pay any compensation to prisoners for refusing them the vote.

Anne Main, the Tory MP who tabled the motion, said prisoners had forfeited the right to vote when they committed their crimes.

‘We are told that if prisoners are not given the vote we will have to pay them £100million in compensation,’ she said. ‘But where has that figure come from and why are we agreeing to pay it? They should not get a penny as far as I am concerned.

‘The Government should stand up and tell the court it is overstepping the mark.’
Liberal Democrat equalities minister Lynne Featherstone yesterday became one of the few ministers to speak out publicly in favour of giving prisoners the vote.

‘Apart from the issue of Britain being in breach of the European Court of Human Rights and as a minister voting for a lawful outcome, I have always believed prison is the punishment – the removal from society and being kept in a cell,’ she said.

‘Outside of that, I think it would be a good thing if prisoners had any interest in outside matters and current events – although I fear many may not even be interested in voting.’

Miss Featherstone later said she would join other ministers in abstaining tomorrow.

The issue has also divided Labour. John Prescott and Jack Straw had a furious row about the issue at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, with Mr Prescott arguing that the UK had a duty to respect the Strasbourg court’s judgements.

But Labour sources indicated the party’s frontbenchers will abstain.

Hirst was interviewed by Tory Radio, an obscure political station.