Leaked document raises questions over amount of government control behind MP Kim Leadbeater’s bill
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Labour planned while in opposition how to introduce assisted dying via a private member’s bill, suggesting that would still allow “heavy influence” for the government in the process, a leaked document has revealed.
The document, seen by the Guardian, proposed a change strikingly similar to the private member’s bill put forward eventually by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater – to limit the change in the law to those who are “mentally competent, terminally ill and have a prognosis of less than six months left to live”.
The leak will raise fresh questions over how much government control there has been behind Leadbeater’s bill and comes ahead of a major battle in the House of Lords continuing this Friday, where many opposing peers have tabled hundreds of amendments for debate, which has been seen by some as an effort to filibuster the bill.
