Paul Nuttall: I would bring back death penalty and execute terrorists myself

Paul Nuttall has said he would execute people himself as he backed the return of the death penalty for terrorists and child killers.

The Ukip leader called for a referendum on the issue, claiming that the public would back him if the policy was taken to the polls.

He made the comments in the wake of the deadly blast at the Manchester Arena on Monday, during which suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people when he set off a bomb after an Ariana Grande concert.

In an interview at a Westminster pub with the Mail on Sunday, Mr Nuttall said: “I would like to see the death penalty for terrorists and child killers.”

“For people who kill a [British] soldier and harm children, I would not have a problem doing it. I believe in capital punishment for treason. Opinion polls show the vast majority of people agree with me.”

Asked if he would support tagging terror suspects, Mr Nuttall said: "Yes, why not? Until they have denounced this evil ideology."

He said he would force new immigrants to sign a 'contract' and sit an 'attitude test' to prove they backed 'British values' and kick them out if they failed.

Mr Nuttall stressed his support of capital punishment was a personal view and not official Ukip policy.

The politician was also forced to defend some of the party’s controversial manifesto policies during an interview with Robert Peston on Sunday morning, including a ban on Muslim women wearing a burka.

He was challenged by Peston on a claim in the Ukip manifesto that wearing full face coverings prevented the “essential vitamin D from sunlight”.

Mr Nuttall said: “There is a myriad of medical research which shows that if you don't show your face and the rest of your body to the sun there will be vitamin D deficiency - but that's peripheral."

"What we're talking about is banning face coverings, whether that's the niqab or the burqa or indeed whether that's someone turning up at an EDL march."