Celebrities to gather in Westminster as MPs debate assisted dying today after cancer-stricken Dame Esther Rant

Celebrities and campaigners will gather in Westminster today ahead of a debate on assisted dying, after cancer-stricken Dame Esther Rantzen backed the campaign.

Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, Dame Susan Hampshire and long-time campaigner Peter Tatchell are expected to be among the high-profile figures gathered.

Pro-change campaign group My Death, My Decision described it as a 'significant moment in the campaign for a compassionate assisted dying law'.

It comes after a petition for a debate gained more than 200,000 signatures and was promoted by Dame Esther, who has stage four lung cancer and has signed up for the Dignitas assisting dying clinic in Switzerland.

The Childline founder, 83, previously led a chorus of dismay after a report by MPs into assisted dying failed to deliver any clear-cut findings or proposals — and called for a free vote into the issue.

Speaking to ITV News Dame Esther said: 'I had three deaths that happened very soon after each other. There was Desy (Desmond) my husband, there was my mother and there was our dog and there's no question my dog had the best death.'

'We can offer our beloved pets a pain free death and we can't offer it to our beloved family.'

Dame Esther Rantzen (pictured), 83, promoted the petition after revealing that she had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and has signed up for the Dignitas assisting dying clinic in Switzerland

Campaigners, bereaved relatives and famous faces are due to gather outside Parliament on Monday afternoon ahead of a debate on assisted dying

Dame Esther has branded the current law, which she said could see her family left at risk of prosecution if they helped her to go to Switzerland, as 'not right' and 'not ethical'. 

Last week, Dame Esther said she will 'sadly' be unable to attend Monday's event in person because of her health, but vowed she 'will be watching the debate closely as it affects my own decision to go to Dignitas in Zurich if necessary, to protect my family from witnessing a painful death'.

Dame Esther's daughter Rebecca Wilcox told GMB this morning that they had always been a 'revoltingly open family about everything'.

She added: 'This woman is my person, she's my best friend, I talk to her four times a day about everything and I adore her. 

'But if I go with her to Switzerland I face prosecution, the process can take up to two years, cost thousands of pounds in legal fees and I face up to 14 years in prison.'

Dame Prue Leith, another pro-change campaigner, hailed Dame Esther's efforts in speaking out, thanking her for 'everything she has done to make our politicians sit up and pay attention'.

In a statement, the Great British Bake Off judge, who is also unable to attend Monday's debate due to filming commitments, said: 'What is needed is less pearl-clutching about whether this reform should happen, and more serious, constructive debate about how to craft the best possible law for our dying people.'

She said she is confident that 'one way or another this change will be coming to the UK in the next few years' and described Westminster as being 'left in the dust' while reforms are being debated in nearby jurisdictions. 

TV Presenter Jonathan Dimbleby previously described the current law as 'increasingly unbearable' following the death of his younger brother Nicholas, who suffered with motor neurone disease (MND). 

Rebecca Wilcox spoke to GMB this morning ahead of the assisted dying debate today 

She told GMB: 'This woman is my person, she's my best friend, I talk to her four times a day about everything and I adore her'

Dame Prue Leith (pictured) another pro-change campaigner, hailed Dame Esther's efforts in speaking out

John Dimbleby (pictured) said the UK's law against medically assisted death is 'increasingly unbearable' in the wake of his brother's death

Dame Esther Rantzen led a chorus of dismay after a much-anticipated report by MPs into assisted dying failed to deliver any clearcut findings or proposals

The petition, which has led to Monday's debate, stated: 'Terminally ill people who are mentally sound and near the end of their lives should not suffer unbearably against their will.'

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, a member of the Petitions Committee, is due to open the debate, while victims and safeguarding minister Laura Farris will respond on behalf of the Government.

There will not be a vote.

The issue was last voted on in the Commons in 2015, when it was defeated at second reading stage by 330 votes to 118.

But it has been less than two years since a Westminster Hall debate on assisted dying took place, with one held in July 2022.

On that occasion, some 38 MPs contributed to the three-hour debate.

Those who oppose a change in the law have voiced concerns that legalising assisted dying could put pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a burden on others, and argue the disabled, elderly, sick or depressed could be especially at risk.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of the campaign group Care Not Killing described Monday's debate as a missed opportunity to talk about fixing the UK's palliative and social care system.

He said: 'Instead of discussing this dangerous and ideological policy, we should be talking about how to fix the UK's broken and patchy palliative care system so everyone can have a dignified death.'

Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, a member of the Petitions Committee, is due to open the debate today (pictured) 

Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to being charged with murder or other offences.

A Bill was introduced in Scotland in March - the third time members of the Scottish parliament will have considered the issue - with two previous attempts to change the law defeated.

A report by MPs at Westminster in February warned that the Government must consider what to do if the law is changed in part of the UK or on the Isle of Man or Jersey, both of which are crown dependencies and both of which are currently considering the issue.

The Health and Social Care Committee - which did not make any recommendation for a vote on the issue, said legalisation in at least one jurisdiction is looking 'increasingly likely' and suggested the Government must be 'actively involved' in discussions about how to approach differences in the law.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'committed' to allowing a vote on legalising assisted dying should Labour win the general election, while Downing Street has previously said it would be up to Parliament whether to debate legalising assisted dying again.

Dr Andrew Green, deputy chairman of the BMA ethics committee, has called for assurances that legislation would provide doctors a choice to opt-in to carrying out assisted dying.

MPs are set to debate assisted dying today after a petition backed by Dame Esther Rantzen secured more than 200,000 signatures.

On the BMA's position, Dr Green told the Radio 4 Today programme: 'The main requirement was that we would want doctors to be given a real genuine choice about whether and to what extent they would be willing to participate.

'There would need to be an opt-in arrangement. It wouldn't be part of any doctor's normal job to provide physicians' assisted dying.'

The BMA has shifted from a position against assisted dying to one of neutrality.

Dr Green said: 'As a representative organisation we have a duty to represent all those people's views and that's why we changed to a position of neutrality.'

He said around 50% of members backed a change in the law, while 40% were opposed.