Assisted dying bill needs to be strengthened 'to protect those who feel they are a burden’

Library image. Credit: House of Commons/UK Parliament

By Aine Fox and Caitlin Doherty, PA Media

Stronger safeguards are needed in the proposed new law on assisted dying to protect against people requesting to end their lives because they feel they are a burden on society, a former Conservative home secretary has said.

The Conservative MP James Cleverly, who voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in November, said he wants to “make sure” that people who opt for assisted dying are “genuinely doing this for their own benefit”.