Another week and another U-turn on Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill. The 23-man committee scrutinising the legislation is supposed to be calling a diverse range of witnesses. Yet Leadbeater’s panel has repeatedly come in for criticism for only inviting those on her side of the argument. Last week it was the Royal College of Psychiatrists, whom the panel initially voted 14 to 8 to not invite to give evidence. That decision was only reversed at the last-minute, thanks to a public outcry online.
A week on and no lessons seems to have been learned. The committee appeared yesterday to be doubling down on not hearing from deaf and disabled people’s organisations, with only Mencap – the learning disabilities charity – the only one invited. When the House rose at 10:30 p.m on Monday night, that remained the case but now, overnight, there seems to have been another volte-face. Leadbeater has now finally invited Disability Rights UK, which is being squeezed in alongside five other witnesses. Better late than never eh…
As legislative expert Nikki da Costa notes, there are clear concerns from MPs outside the committee too. Diane Abbott is trying again to get insight from those tackling domestic abuse and coercion. With line-by-line scrutiny being delayed a week, advocates of assisted dying can’t plead time constraints. After all, if it’s such a great bill, why the need to rush it…?
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