This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of FCDO Human Rights

10th October 2011

The Death Penalty

Today is the 9th World Day against the Death Penalty. It is the longstanding policy of the UK to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. However the death penalty is not prohibited by international law and 58 countries in the world retain it – that is 58 too many. The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty for murder in 1965. The last time a person was executed in the United Kingdom was on 1 November 1965.

Many states claim that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, and that a society cannot afford to abolish it for fear of generating more crime. This is particularly true in countries where there are high levels of crime, and particularly violent crime, be they democracies or ruled by other forms of government. And yet numerous academic studies have failed to establish that execution is a stronger deterrent than the prospect of a longer sentence, or that it stops crime. For example, in the United States where the death penalty in still applied in many States, murder rates are highest in those southern States that tend to execute most people.

There are many arguments that can be marshalled against the death penalty. We consider that the use of the death penalty fundamentally undermines human dignity, and people of faith often say that it can never be for man to take away something that is God-given and sacred. Others  who take a more pragmatic view, share our concern that any miscarriage of justice leading to its imposition is irreversible and irreparable. At the very least, EU and international minimum standards need to be applied wherever the death penalty is practised, including only carrying out the death penalty for the most serious crimes, and not executing pregnant women or those under 18. A formal moratorium on the death penalty is sometimes a way forward for a country, where abolition is unlikely in the near future and can be viewed as a longer term goal.

There is an international trend towards abolition of the death penalty. This 10 October provides a moment to reflect on its practice, and to encourage those states which retain the death penalty to formally establish a moratorium with a view to abolition.

About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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