The crucial committee that will scrutinise the assisted dying bill will have a majority of supportive MPs, including two government ministers, in a move that has been branded “a stitch-up” by campaigners.
Care minister Stephen Kinnock and justice minister Sarah Sackman, who voted in favour of the legislation, have both been selected for the 23-member committee, which will test the proposed legislation line by line.
The bill, which will support terminally ill adults to end their own lives, has received initial backing from MPs, but still has some way to go before it becomes law.
A leading voice of opposition to assisted dying, Conservative MP Danny Kruger, will also be on the committee. But MPs who voted against the bill are outnumbered on the scrutiny committee – nine to 14.
Reacting to the make-up of the committee, which was revealed on Wednesday night, opponents of the bill were furious. A list of nine MPs against assisted dying was proposed by Tory MP Danny Kruger to sit on the bill committee to go through it line by line. However, only two of the MPs on that list were accepted, The Independent understands.
Among those rejected was qualified psychiatrist Dr Ben Spencer, meaning that the three medically qualified MPs on the committee are all supportive of assisted dying.
MPs such as Rachael Maskell, who led the debate against assisted dying, and Treasury and liaison committee chair Meg Hillier were also kept off the committee.
It has also been noted that some of the opponents on the committee did not even speak in the debate and, in some cases, only voted against the bill following constituency consultations.
One campaigner told The Independent: “I am afraid this is a complete stitch-up.”
Labour MP Ms Maskell said: “I am surprised that no one who was on the assisted dying/assisted suicide health select committee inquiry is on the committee, and myself and Dr Ben Spencer for our relevant clinical experience. All bills need strong scrutiny if they are to make good law, but there are significant issues which need challenging and I trust that this will occur. I did ask Kim Leadbeater to be on the committee.”
Kim Leadbeater’s bill could see terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live legally allowed to end their lives, subject to approval by two doctors and a High Court judge.
She said the presence of ministers on the committee shows “the level of engagement and commitment that such an important piece of legislation demands”.
The government is neutral on the issue of assisted dying, with the cabinet split in how members voted last month, including backing from prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and opposition from health secretary Wes Streeting and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Ms Leadbeater said the committee reflects both the range of views expressed in the debate and the party make-up of the House of Commons.
The committee features 15 Labour MPs – nine who voted for the Bill and six who voted against; four Conservatives – two for and two against; three Liberal Democrats – two for and one against; and one Plaid Cymru MP who voted in favour.
Ms Leadbeater said: “The bill committee will bring together colleagues with differing views and valuable experience in order to give the bill the detailed scrutiny it deserves and requires.”
A total of 330 MPs voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at second reading, with 275 MPs opposing it, meaning it cleared its first parliamentary hurdle by a majority of 55.
During a debate in parliament last month, some MPs indicated their support for the bill might not continue at a further vote, if they are not convinced of safeguards around potential coercion.
Analysis seen by The Independent suggests that more than 30 MPs who voted in favour of assisted dying could change their minds at a later stage.
One of the MPs sitting on the committee, Marie Tidball, said she had voted in favour of the bil but she wanted to see changes before giving it final approval. She told the Commons that doctors should offer assisted dying to patients alongside other options, such as “receiving the best possible palliative and end of life care”.
Ms Leadbeater said the committee, expected to first meet in January, “will have the task of going through it line by line and examining any amendments that are put forward”.
She added: “This will follow the taking of oral and written evidence. As I promised in my speech, the committee reflects the range of views expressed in the debate as well as the make-up of the House itself.
“While the government remains neutral, I am very pleased that two ministers will also be on the committee, reflecting the level of engagement and commitment that such an important piece of legislation demands.”
Ms Leadbeater said the committee process, which is expected to last weeks, is likely to be a “demanding and time-consuming process”.
She added that she is “confident the bill will receive detailed scrutiny to ensure that both houses of parliament are presented with legislation for further consideration that is workable and rigorous in terms of the rights it confers and the safeguards and protections it affords”.
The committee considering the bill will have the power to send for people, papers and records as part of its sessions.
The bill will face further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.
Ms Leadbeater has said it would likely be a further two years from then for an assisted dying service to be in place.
Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.
The MPs on the committee and who voted yes to the bill are: Kim Leadbeater; Sarah Sackman; Stephen Kinnock; Bambos Charalambous; Marie Tidball; Simon Opher; Jake Richards; Rachel Hopkins; Lewis Atkinson; Kit Malthouse; Neil Shastri-Hurst; Tom Gordon; Sarah Green and Liz Saville-Roberts.
The MPs on the committee who voted no to the bill are: Naz Shah; Juliet Campbell; Daniel Francis; Sojan Joseph; Jack Abbott; Sean Woodcock; Danny Kruger; Rebecca Paul and Sarah Olney.
