Treachery Act 1940
Encyclopedia
The Treachery Act 1940 (3 & 4 Geo. VI c. 40) was an Act
of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland enacted during World War II
to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies
, and suspended after the war and later repealed. The law was passed in the month after Nazi Germany
invaded France
and Winston Churchill
became prime minister
(23 May 1940).
still had its own special rules of evidence and procedure which made it a difficult offence to prove and prosecute (see Treason Act 1695
). The new offence of treachery, a felony
, was designed to make securing convictions easier as it could be proved under the same rules of evidence as ordinary offences. It was also needed because there was doubt whether the treason laws were applicable to German saboteurs.
In commending the Bill to the House of Commons, the Home Secretary
, Sir John Anderson
, explained why the bill was necessary:
In the House of Lords the Lord Chancellor
, Viscount Simon
, elaborated:
The bill was always intended to be a temporary emergency measure which would be repealed after the War. It was rushed through Parliament in two weeks, passing the House of Lords in a few minutes and receiving royal assent
on the same day.
Some argue that the Treachery Act 1940 could quite easily have replaced the current, ancient statutes that relate to and define treason. However after the War people continued to be prosecuted under the Treason Act 1351
for disloyalty during the War.
Besides the laxer rules of procedure and evidence, the other main difference between treason and treachery was that the death sentence for treason was mandatory
, whereas the death sentence for treachery could be commuted by the court under the Judgement of Death Act 1823
. However no sentences were commuted by the courts (although one was commuted by the home secretary).
was not an element of treachery. Section 4 of the Act provided:
"Dominion" meant any Dominion within the meaning of the Statute of Westminster 1931
, except Newfoundland
, and included any territory administered by the Government as a Dominion.(s.5(1))
, who was hanged at HMP Wandsworth on 10 July 1941. Duncan Scott-Ford
was also executed for treachery in November 1942. German agent Josef Jakobs
, the last person to be executed in the Tower of London
, was court-martialled and executed by firing squad under this Act. The last person to be executed under the Treachery Act was Briton
Theodore Schurch
, executed on 4 January 1946, who was the last person to be executed in the United Kingdom for an offence other than murder.
A seventeenth person, Portuguese diplomat Rogerio de Magalhaes Peixoto de Menezes, was sentenced to death but had his sentence commuted by the Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison
, to penal servitude for life. He was deported in 1949.
abolished the special status of treason and enabled treason to be proved with the normal rules of evidence. The Treachery Act 1940 was suspended on 24 February 1946. It was repealed in 1968 for England and Wales and in 1973 for the rest of the United Kingdom.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland enacted during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
, and suspended after the war and later repealed. The law was passed in the month after Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
became prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
(23 May 1940).
Reasons for the Act
The Treachery Act was deemed necessary because treasonTreason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
still had its own special rules of evidence and procedure which made it a difficult offence to prove and prosecute (see Treason Act 1695
Treason Act 1695
The Treason Act 1695 is an Act of the Parliament of England which laid down rules of evidence and procedure in high treason trials. It was passed by the English Parliament but was extended to cover Scotland in 1708 and Ireland in 1821...
). The new offence of treachery, a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
, was designed to make securing convictions easier as it could be proved under the same rules of evidence as ordinary offences. It was also needed because there was doubt whether the treason laws were applicable to German saboteurs.
In commending the Bill to the House of Commons, the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Sir John Anderson
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, PC, PC was a British civil servant then politician who served as a minister under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill as Home Secretary, Lord President of the Council and Chancellor of the Exchequer...
, explained why the bill was necessary:
In the House of Lords the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
, Viscount Simon
John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon GCSI GCVO OBE PC was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second. He is one of only three people to have served as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer,...
, elaborated:
The bill was always intended to be a temporary emergency measure which would be repealed after the War. It was rushed through Parliament in two weeks, passing the House of Lords in a few minutes and receiving royal assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on the same day.
Treachery and treason
The first section of the Treachery Act 1940 read:Some argue that the Treachery Act 1940 could quite easily have replaced the current, ancient statutes that relate to and define treason. However after the War people continued to be prosecuted under the Treason Act 1351
Treason Act 1351
The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England which codified and curtailed the common law offence of treason. No new offences were created by the statute. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended. It was extended to...
for disloyalty during the War.
Besides the laxer rules of procedure and evidence, the other main difference between treason and treachery was that the death sentence for treason was mandatory
Mandatory sentencing
A mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where judicial discretion is limited by law. Typically, people convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison...
, whereas the death sentence for treachery could be commuted by the court under the Judgement of Death Act 1823
Judgement of Death Act 1823
The Judgement of Death Act 1823 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Passed at a time when there were over 200 offences in English law which carried a mandatory sentence of death, it gave judges the discretion to pass a lesser sentence for the first time. It did not apply to...
. However no sentences were commuted by the courts (although one was commuted by the home secretary).
Extent
Breach of a duty of allegianceAllegiance
An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed by a subject or a citizen to his/her state or sovereign.-Etymology:From Middle English ligeaunce . The al- prefix was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an "allegation"...
was not an element of treachery. Section 4 of the Act provided:
"Dominion" meant any Dominion within the meaning of the Statute of Westminster 1931
Statute of Westminster 1931
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
, except Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, and included any territory administered by the Government as a Dominion.(s.5(1))
Uses of the Act
Sixteen people were shot by firing squad or hanged for treachery. The first British subject to be executed under the law was George Johnson ArmstrongGeorge Johnson Armstrong
George Johnson Armstrong was the first British citizen to be executed under the Treachery Act 1940. Only two other British citizens shared this fate, Duncan Scott-Ford and Theodore Schurch....
, who was hanged at HMP Wandsworth on 10 July 1941. Duncan Scott-Ford
Duncan Scott-Ford
Duncan Alexander Croall Scott-Ford was a British merchant seaman who was hanged for treachery after giving information to an enemy agent during World War II.-Family origins:...
was also executed for treachery in November 1942. German agent Josef Jakobs
Josef Jakobs
Corporal Josef Jakobs was a German spy, who was executed by firing squad in the Tower of London during the Second World War after conviction under the Treachery Act 1940. His trial took place in camera...
, the last person to be executed in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, was court-martialled and executed by firing squad under this Act. The last person to be executed under the Treachery Act was Briton
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Theodore Schurch
Theodore Schurch
Theodore William John Schurch was an Anglo-Swiss soldier who was executed for treachery following the end of the Second World War. He was the last person to be executed in Britain for an offence other than murder.-Early life:...
, executed on 4 January 1946, who was the last person to be executed in the United Kingdom for an offence other than murder.
A seventeenth person, Portuguese diplomat Rogerio de Magalhaes Peixoto de Menezes, was sentenced to death but had his sentence commuted by the Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
, to penal servitude for life. He was deported in 1949.
Suspension and repeal
The Treachery Act 1940 was brought into being for the duration of the "war emergency" (section 6). The Treason Act 1945Treason Act 1945
The Treason Act 1945 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.It was introduced into the House of Lords as a purely procedural statute, whose sole purpose was to abolish the old and highly technical procedure in cases of treason, and assimilate it to...
abolished the special status of treason and enabled treason to be proved with the normal rules of evidence. The Treachery Act 1940 was suspended on 24 February 1946. It was repealed in 1968 for England and Wales and in 1973 for the rest of the United Kingdom.
See also
- Capital punishment in the United KingdomCapital punishment in the United KingdomCapital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
- High treason in the United KingdomHigh treason in the United KingdomUnder the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
- Defence of the Realm Act 1914Defence of the Realm Act 1914The Defence of the Realm Act was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, during the early weeks of World War I. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war period, such as the power to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, or to make regulations creating...
- Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939The Emergency Powers Act 1939 was emergency legislation passed just prior to the outbreak of World War II by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enable the British Government to take up emergency powers to prosecute the war effectively...
- Defence RegulationsDefence RegulationsDuring the Second World War Defence Regulations were a fundamental aspect of everyday life in the United Kingdom.They were emergency regulations passed on the outbreak of war and during it to give the government emergency powers to prosecute the war. Two Acts of Parliament were passed as enabling...