Ukip leadership hopeful Paul Nuttall says he would back a referendum on capital punishment

Mr Nuttall says he ‘believes in direct democracy’ and is ‘relaxed about all of these kind of things’

One of Ukip’s leadership hopefuls has said he would back a referendum on capital punishment.

Paul Nuttall said he “believes in direct democracy” and that he thought the majority of British people would support its return.

“If enough people decided that [a referendum] was required, then so be it. I’m relaxed about all of these kinds of things,” he told Sky News.

“In terms of capital punishment, I have been quite open that I believe in capital punishment for the killers of children,” he added.

The comments come after the three frontrunners for the Ukip leadership, Mr Nuttall, Raheem Kassam and Suzanne Evans, all said they would give Nigel Farage a peerage if the party was given seats in the House of Lords.

"If Ukip are offered positions in the House of Lords, the first name on the list will be Nigel Farage," Mr Nuttall told The Sunday Times.

Mr Nuttall also told Sky News that he believes “Ukip should have been given more peerages” and suggested the reason they haven’t is David Cameron’s “hatred” for the party.

The comments come after Mr Nuttall, the former chair of the party, was accused by his leadership rival Mr Kassam of wishing Nigel Farage was dead. Mr Kassam claimed that Mr Nuttall in particular is trying to put Mr Farage in a position where his “life is on the line”.

Mr Nuttall denied the allegations and described them as “absolute rubbish”.