Esther Rantzen urges MPs to support 'strong, safe' assisted dying bill in vote

Esther Rantzen, the broadcaster and campaigner for assisted dying, has written to all MPs urging them to back Kim Leadbeater's "strong, safe, carefully considered bill" before its next Commons test today.

- Peter Walker Eleni Courea Jessica Elgot

In an impassioned letter, Rantzen, who has stage-four lung cancer, said she and other terminally ill adults urged MPs to permit "a good, pain-free death for ourselves and those we love and care for".

Her intervention came as a group of MPs from medical backgrounds also implored colleagues to support the bill, saying most healthcare professionals "understand that the current law is not working".

The letters are the latest skirmish in the pitched battle over the private member's bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live, spearheaded by Leadbeater, a Labour MP.

The bill, which passed its second reading by 55 votes, was due to face another yes-or-no vote today, the committee stage. But after the Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, granted more time for the debate, the only votes will be on specific amendments.