Ruth Ellis, last woman to be hanged in UK, gets conditional posthumous pardon
source: BBC News
published: 8 July 2026
Image Credit: Pexels/Duda at www.Pexels.com
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was standing in for Sir Keir Starmer today, facing questions from shadow housing secretary James Cleverly. In a surprise announcement, Lammy said the King has granted a conditional pardon to Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK in 1955, after she was convicted of murdering her abusive lover.
Her sentence will be commuted from execution to life in prison. "While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely," Lammy said, the change in sentence recognises "a profound injustice in this exceptional case."
"Justice has finally been done," her granddaughter said afterwards.
Laura Enston grew up in a family haunted for generations by a murder and an execution. As the granddaughter of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, Laura’s life was never going to be straightforward.
Justice was at the centre of PMQs, with questions heavily focusing on the issue of early prisoner release.
Cleverly highlighted sex offenders and paedophiles, repeatedly pushing Lammy to apologise for letting serious criminals out early - saying that the deputy prime minister was "hellbent on releasing dangerous criminals".
The shadow housing secretary was referring to proposed changes to the Sentencing Act, which include reducing jail time for some prisoners to ease overcrowding.
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