'Assisted dying should be up to judge' - leading barrister

COURTS should make the decision on whether to grant an assisted death, a top barrister has told Parliament, as peers continue their line-by-line scrutiny of the controversial legislation.

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A previous draft of the Bill included a High Court judge safeguard, but this was dropped in favour of a three-member panel featuring a social worker, psychiatrist and a legal professional.

Lord Carlile of Berriew KC argued a court-based process would “provide confidence-inspiring judgment in this important and difficult new area of the law”.

However, another leading KC, Lord Pannick, said the court backlog means this would “build in delays” for people who have less than six months to live and the decision-making panel set out in the Bill is preferable, due to the “range of expertise” it provides.