According to amendments tabled by Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP whose private member’s bill aims to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales, some panels would be able to sit in private, and people refused an assisted death could get the right to appeal.
Under the 16 pages of amendments by Leadbeater, the panels would be appointed by a voluntary assisted dying commissioner – a role described as a “death tsar” by critics – who would be appointed by the prime minister.
In a joint statement after Leadbeater’s full amendments were published, five Labour MPs who opposed the bill accused her of having “sprung yet another surprise upon MPs, this time the creation of a whole new body with panels and a distant civil service tsar to oversee assisted dying”.
The amendments set out how the process would work after Leadbeater announced earlier this week that she was removing the need for every case to be scrutinised by a high court judge, with this role now being performed by assisted dying review panels.
Expert panels that would approve assisted dying cases would be appointed by a commissioner chosen by the prime minister, according to new details, prompting criticism from opponents.
