Assisted dying case judge backs law change

The former president of the supreme court who ruled on the most high-profile assisted dying cases has declared his support for the law change as MPs backing the bill say they believe they have the numbers for tomorrow's historic vote to pass.

- Jessica Elgot, Harriet Sherwood

David Neuberger, who ruled in high-profile assisted dying cases, including applications by Debbie Purdy in 2009 and Tony Nicklinson in 2015, told the Guardian he believed the status quo was failing "the fundamental aims of the law - to respect people's right of personal autonomy, and to protect the vulnerable".

Neuberger said his experience on cases involving assisted dying meant he was confident the tight terms of Kim Leadbeater's bill - that it would apply to only terminally ill people - could not be expanded by judicial challenge.

Both sides of the debate have been making final calls to MPs this week, with dozens still telling colleagues they are undecided.

The Guardian can reveal MPs are also preparing to announce a new independent commission on palliative care spearheaded by the Labour MP Rachael Maskell - which they are hopeful will get backing from the health secretary, Wes Streeting, when it launches in December.

High-profile charities backing the new commission include the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland, Hospice UK, Marie Curie and Sue Ryder, though all say it must take hearings from all sides of the assisted dying debate.

The focus would be on improving end-of-life care and the palliative care doctor llora Finlay is among the favourites to be named chair, although she has been explicitly antiassisted dying.

MPs this week have also heard impassioned pleas from disability activists against assisted dying. Pam Duncan-Glancy, the Scottish Labour MSP who uses a wheelchair, said she felt disabled people's voices were being forgotten and wrote a letter to Labour MPs saying the state would be at risk of making it easier for disabled people to die than to access the right help to live comfortably.