Suffragettes who were convicted and even jailed while fighting to win the vote for women will be pardoned by a Labour government, Jeremy Corbyn has announced.

The women were “treated appallingly by society and the state” and their convictions were “politically motivated”, the Labour leader said.

“Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction, so a pardon could mean something to their families,” he added.

The announcement came as Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, appeared to resist pressure for a pardon – warning the issue was “complicated” in cases of arson and violence.

More than 1,000 women were arrested and many were imprisoned during the battle for equality, making them “political prisoners”, campaigners say.

Labour’s announcement falls on today’s 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, which is being marked across the country, with Theresa May delivering a speech in Manchester.

The 1918 Act was the first to give women the vote, although only to those over the age of 30 who also owned land or a home. Suffrage was not extended to all women until 1928.

Mr Corbyn first called for pardons for suffragettes in 2004, but the Blair government said they were only possible if new evidence suggested the conviction was unsafe or if the crime had since ceased to exist.

The second scenario was used to grant Alan Turing a pardon in 2013 for his conviction of gross indecency for being gay, because there was no longer such a crime.

But Mr Corbyn said today: “As a country, we must recognise and honour the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by women who campaigned for the right to vote.

“Many of those women were treated appallingly by society and the state. Convictions of suffragettes were politically motivated and bore no relation to the acts committed.

“Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction so a pardon could mean something to their families.

“Labour in government will both pardon the suffragettes and give an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and wider persecution they suffered.”

The move will delight campaigners including the Fawcett Society, which promotes gender equality and described suffragette activism as a “noble cause”.

Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Male and female members of the women's suffrage movement on a protest march through London in 1900 F J Mortimer/Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Suffrage leader Emmeline Pankhurst, who led the movement to win the vote for women in Great Britain . Getty Images / Topical Press Agency / Stringer Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Suffragettes Annie Kenney and Mary Gawthorne painting a pavement with a slogan, 'Votes For Women', during the Hexham by-election in 1907 Hulton Archive/Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Crowds lining the streets as they watch suffragettes (left to right) Emmeline Pankhurst, Mary Jane Clark (Emmeline's sister), the driver, Charlotte Marsh and Jessie Kelly pass by following their release from Holloway Prison on 1 February, 1908. PA Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures Flora Drummond (left) giving instructions to suffragettes dressed as prisoners in 1908. PA Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Imprisoned suffragettes waving through the barred windows of Holloway Prison, London, 1909. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst being jeered by a crowd in New York, circa 1911. GETTY Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes A male suffrage supporter is led over the bridge at St. James' Park, after being arrested for involvement in the attack on Buckingham Palace in 1912. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Suffragette Lady Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, treasurer of the WSPU, celebrates her release from prison in 1912. HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Emily Davison, who was killed trying to stop King George V’s horse Anmer in the 1913 Derby. Getty Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Emily Davison (1872 - 1913) is fatally injured as she tries to stop the King's horse 'Amner' on Derby Day, to draw attention to the Women's Suffragette movement. Getty Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Fellow campaigners guard Emily Davison’s coffin at her funeral. Getty Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Suffragettes in the funeral procession of Emily Davison on 14th June 1913. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Crowds line the street as the funeral procession Emily Davison on 14 June 1913. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Labour MP and suffragette Barbara Ayrton-Gould. Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst being arrested while trying to present a petition to the King at Buckingham Palace on 21 May 1914. Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures The suffragettes Suffragettes holding white sunshades advertising their newspaper 'Suffragette' in 1914. Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures A policeman restrains a demonstrator as suffragettes gathered outside Buckingham Palace on 21 May, 1914. PA Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures British Emmeline Pankhurst being jeered by a crowd in New York. Getty Images Votes for Women - the suffragette movement: in pictures Suffragettes during a mass meeting in the Royal Albert Hall. The Representation of the People Act, passed on February 6 1918, gave certain women over the age of 30 a vote and the right to stand for Parliament. PA

“It would be a fitting tribute to pardon them now. They made such sacrifices so that we could all enjoy the rights we have today. In any meaningful sense of the word, they were not criminals,” said Sam Smethers, the organisation’s chief executive.

The Home Secretary said of the campaign for a pardon: “I completely understand where it’s coming from.”

But she added: “I will take a look at it, but I must be frank. It is complicated because if you’re going to give a legal pardon for things like arson and violence it’s not as straightforward as people think it might be.”

Ms Rudd said: “I’m just pointing out, unfortunately, the practical reality of bypassing the law in this way, but as I said, I would like to take a look at individual proposals to see what can be done.”