asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many homicides were made known to the police in the calendar year before the Bill to abolish capital punishment became law; and what was the comparable figure for the most recent year.

The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 came into operation on 9 November 1965. In Scotland in 1964 there were 27 cases of murder involving 31 victims. In 1980—the latest year for which figures are available—the provisional statistics record 50 cases of murder involving 53 victims.