A Conservative MEP has come under fire for suggesting that Britain’s Treason Act should be updated to apply to citizens who are “working undemocratically against UK through extreme EU loyalty”.

David Bannerman, a former Ukip deputy leader who defected back to the Conservatives in 2011, told the Guardian he was referring to those who might leak confidential information that would damage Britain’s interests after Brexit.

The MEP tweeted on Wednesday: “It is about time we brought the Treason Act up to date and made it apply to those seeking to destroy or undermine the British state. That means extreme jihadis. It also means those in future actively working undemocratically against UK through extreme EU loyalty.”

David C Bannerman (@DCBMEP) It is about time we brought the Treason Act up to date and made it apply to those seeking to destroy or undermine the British state. That means extreme jihadis. It also means those in future actively working undemocratically against U.K. through extreme EU loyalty pic.twitter.com/CXSPCJqjOz

His tweet included a copy of Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph front page, which reported on calls for treason laws to be updated and used to prosecute jihadis who have fought in Syria. A report published on Tuesday by the right-leaning Policy Exchange thinktank had said the law should allow enemies of the state to be jailed for life.

Among those criticising Bannerman was the broadcaster Gavin Esler, who is chancellor at the University of Kent. He tweeted at the MEP: “Unfortunately your comment equating support for the EU with jihadis and treason requires no exaggeration – merely an apology to half the population who are sick of such Brexcrement. Since you are sucking on the euro-teat as an MEP have you no shame?”

Virendra Sharma, the Labour MP for Ealing Southall, accused Bannerman of “putting a knife into free speech”.



“One of the best things about this country is the range of opinions that help diversify our political debate. David Bannerman should think long and hard about his spiteful populist rhetoric,” said Sharma in a statement issued by the pro-remain campaign group Best for Britain

Bannerman said he was not referring to those who protest against Brexit or “work democratically” for the UK to join the EU after Brexit.

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He said: “I am talking, for example, about the leaking of confidential information on negotiations or other confidential documents to the EU, where the intent is an anti-British one. I am also talking about it after Brexit. In no way would I want to curtail debate.”

Bannerman said the relationship between the UK and the EU would change significantly in future, adding: “The EU would become a separate power, a separate state and we would have to treat it in the same way as China or Russia.”

The comments come amid concern about the tone of some of the language being used by Brexit-supporting media and supporters, including last year’s “Crush the saboteurs” front-page headline in the Daily Mail. Some have also said that the language used in attacks on the investor George Soros over a £400,000 donation to Best for Britain echoes the antisemitic campaign against him made by nationalist groups and governments in eastern European countries.

Treason laws dating back to 1351 are now unworkable, according to the Policy Exchange report, the authors of which included Conservative and Labour MPs. The last person to be convicted under the act was William Joyce, more commonly known as Lord Haw-Haw, who was hanged in 1946 for assisting Nazi Germany.