Two more top ministers indicate they will back free vote on assisted dying

CHANCELLOR Jeremy Hunt last night indicated he will back a vote on assisted dying.

- Giles Sheldrick

In a major breakthrough, Mr Hunt and Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell broke ranks to publicly state their positions.

It heralds a major landmark in the crusade for assisted dying and comes days after the Ministry of Justice said it would yield to MPs if they voted to change "cruel and outdated" laws which currently ban the right to die.

Campaigners have now urged all MPs to state their positions as they push for a Parliamentary debate and a free vote on what is now a crucial issue for millions of families.

Mr Hunt, who is preparing for the Budget in less than a fortnight, said: "On a personal level I have moved from being very much against a change in the law - on the grounds of unintended consequences rather more agnostic." 

Mr Mitchell, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said: "I strongly support the right of assisted dying.

"The House of Lords has already voted for this, with appropriate safeguards, and Scotland may well be next.