MP behind assisted dying bill suggests scrapping High Court approval

Conservative MP Danny Kruger - a leading critic of the bill - said while he welcomed the idea of more experts being involved in the process, he questioned whether they would be impartial like a judge.

He said concerns about the court's capacity to hear individual cases was "a problem for the bill", which should not be proceeding "without adequate judicial safeguards".

Leadbeater said the panel of experts "would be professional people doing a professional job".

She said some would say the bill now had "too many safeguards".

"I've had emails saying why are you making this so difficult? Because we must remember at the heart of this is a terminally ill person who wants choice," she added.

If approved, the bill, which is currently being considered by MPs, would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their own life.

The new proposal will be voted on by a committee of MPs scrutinising the bill. The members were chosen by Leadbeater and the majority support the legislation.

It comes as the committee begins the process of going through the bill line by line.

Under Leadbeater's proposal, the panel reviewing each application would be chaired by a senior legal figure, but not necessarily a judge, and would also include experts such as psychiatrists and social workers. Their decision could, if necessary, be reviewed by the High Court.

The panels would be chosen by a Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission, led by a High Court judge or senior former judge.

The commission would oversee all cases for an assisted death and report annually on the number of applications and how many were approved and rejected.

Ministers and officials have been closely consulted on the change, although the government technically remains neutral on the bill. Civil servants are drafting the amendment, which will be published later this week.

Leadbeater argued this was not removing judicial scrutiny but changing it to a "judge plus" model.

However, she previously hailed the role of the High Court as part of "three layers of scrutiny" that made it "the strongest, most robust piece of legislation on this issue in the world".

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