Demonstration outside Parliament

As peers began debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the Bill in the Commons last year, was watching from the gallery.

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Demonstrators again gathered outside Parliament both in support of and in opposition to the Bill, which would apply to England and Wales if it became law.

The Bill's supporters have described it as one of the safest in the world, requiring an application for an assisted death to be approved by two doctors and an expert panel.

But opponents have raised concerns around possible coercion, a lack of adequate safeguards, and not enough time for such controversial

Dignitas alone, for fear that loved ones will be prosecuted for helping them.

Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill,

legislation to be properly scrutinised.

The Bill has been subject to debate in the Commons, as well as line-by-line scrutiny by a committee of MPs.