[3] The 1965 act was introduced to Parliament as a private member's bill by Sydney Silverman MP.

The legislation contained a sunset clause, which stated that the act would expire on 31 July 1970 "unless Parliament by affirmative resolutions of both Houses otherwise determines".

[5] No executions have occurred in the United Kingdom since the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965.

The last were on 13 August 1964, when Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans were hanged for murdering John Alan West during a theft four months earlier, a death penalty crime under the 1957 act.

[3] The 1965 act left four capital offences: high treason, "piracy with violence" (piracy with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm), arson in royal dockyards and espionage, as well as other capital offences under military law.