A Conservative backbencher stunned the Commons today when he suggested upping the penalty for fly-tippers – and “garrotting” them.
And Sir Desmond Swayne recommended using the offenders’ own intestines to do so, too.
Garrotting, in case it’s not a regular part of your vocabulary, means killing someone by strangulation.
According to the online Etymology Dictionary, it dates back to the 1620s and was a Spanish method of capital punishment.
The MP for New Forest West spoke up on Thursday amid a discussion about councils cleaning up the streets, and said: “The penalties are insufficient.
“If offenders were garrotted with their own intestines, there would be fewer of them.”
Sir Desmond then just sat back down in his seat and stared at the minister in question.
A few shocked laughs echoed around the chamber at that, followed by a slight pause before the rural affairs minister Robbie Moore stood up – and understandably dodged the backbencher’s comment.
“Er, it’s important, Mr Speaker, that councils have the ability to utilise the penalty fines we are giving them to £1,000 and we want to see those penalties being utilised so we can drive down fly-tipping in all areas,” Moore said.
The clip even made it onto the “insane moments in British politics” X account, and racked up the likes pretty quickly.
This is not the first time the backbencher has stirred controversy with his public comments.
Sir Desmond also refused to apologise for interviewing anti-vaxxers in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, and warned that “vaccinationism” would be akin to other forms of discrimination like sexism and racism.