Oliver Letwin

Oliver Letwin has defended David Davis's support for the death penalty.

Speaking on Tuesday, Letwin said it was "morally right" for his successor as shadow home secretary to make his views known.

His comments followed an interview with Davis over the weekend, in which the Tories' new crime spokesman argued that serial killers convicted by DNA evidence should face a lethal injection.

"The reason why people are against the death penalty very often is because of the risk of getting it wrong," Davis said.

"With serial murders, that is unlikely to happen."

Davis's view is contrasts markedly with those held by many on the Tory benches.

"He was asked a question and he followed the principle of answering it honestly, which is one I have myself often followed," Letwin told the BBC Radio.

"It is important to recognise that that is an issue that has always been the subject of a free vote.

"Nether Michael Howard nor I nor many other in the party happen to take that view but that is a proper view for an individual to take."

"The game in which we play 'was it wise for X to say Y' is ultimately deleterious to democracy," he added.

"What we have to do is have politicians who, when they are asked a straight question, give a straight answer and that is what David did.

"That is morally the right thing to do and it is the right thing to do for British politics."

Howard himself added his comments when he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 World at One programme.

"It is perfectly clear that capital punishment has always been a question for individual members of parliament," he said.

"It has always been free vote territory. And David made it absolutely clear that he was not speaking for the party and anyway he did not expect the views he expressed ever to be accepted by parliament.''

"He was asked a question and he answered it. That is serious grown-up politics and I think people understand that."