Alarm bells sound as assisted suicide bill progresses

Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the new and controversial assisted suicide bill, has been criticised for deciding the first committee sitting would sit partly in private – and for producing a list of potential witnesses broadly supporting the bill.

The committee has already issued a call for written evidence. But when the committee met for the first time on 21 January, Leadbeater told members some of the sitting would be in private to respect ‘individuals’ privacy’.

But Danny Kruger, a Christian MP, said it was ‘inappropriate’ to sit in private and there was 'clear public interest' in decisions being made. Any concerns about witnesses should, he added, be aired in public.