Campaigners gather outside parliament ahead of assisted dying debate

Campaigners both for and against a change in the law on assisted dying gathered outside parliament on Monday 29 April as MPs prepared to take part in a debate over a petition on the issue backed by Dame Esther Rantzen.

The Childline founder and broadcaster, who has stage four lung cancer, has said law reform would “mean that I could look forward in confidence to a death which is pain-free surrounded by people I love”.

Dame Esther’s revelation in December that she had joined the assisted dying clinic Dignitas helped to put the issue back in the headlines.

A three-hour debate is planned for MPs to air their views on Monday afternoon, but there will be no vote at the end.