‘Skewed’ witness selection on assisted suicide sparks indignation

The dominance of pro-assisted suicide witnesses among those selected to appear before the Committee scrutinising the Leadbeater Bill has provoked outrage.

Times’ columnist Janice Turner branded the committee’s action “dismaying” and Danny Kruger MP expressed astonishment that the list was “heavily skewed” towards those in favour of assisted suicide.

A committee vote against hearing evidence from the Royal College of Psychiatrists caused such concern that within a matter of hours Kim Leadbeater had backed-down and added the group to the witness list.

Bias

Leadbeater claimed the group’s first meeting had been “very positive” and that arrangements were now in place to “ensure the committee will hear from a wide range of witnesses”.

But following the meeting, Danny Kruger observed that of the eight witnesses from countries with an assisted suicide law already in place, all were “in favour”; that most of the nine lawyers chosen back a change in the law; and that there is “nobody from deaf or disabled people’s organisations”.

Today the Assisted Dying Bill Committee met to discuss the witnesses we'll hear from. The list is heavily skewed towards people in favour of AD. Of 8 witnesses from countries with AD laws, ALL are in favour. We have 9 lawyers, most pro, none anti. Worst of all…

— Danny Kruger (@danny__kruger) January 21, 2025

Rajiv Shah, a former special adviser at Number 10 to Rishi Sunak, reported: “The Committee also voted against hearing evidence from an elder abuse charity, a domestic abuse charity, and the British Geriatrics Society.”

Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, said “the current witness list, could in no way be described as ‘extremely balanced’ and any reasonable person would be deeply troubled by the one-sided nature of those being called”.

Scrutiny?

Commenting on the Bill, Turner wrote in The Times: “At its first reading I was 55-45 in favour, assuming the committee stage would be an open and free thrashing out of objections, driven by a heartfelt, cross-party desire to create a law that is both safe and humane.

“But everything I read about the conduct of Kim Leadbeater’s committee is dismaying, from the mainly inexperienced MPs chosen to represent the anti side, to an initial vote against taking evidence from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, despite the insight it might have into coercion of the terminally ill.

“Too time-consuming, it was argued. But this is the most momentous law in a generation. There should be all the time in the world.”

Holyrood

Earlier this week, a panel of pro-life groups opposed to Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, urged MSPs to affirm that “every life is worth living” by rejecting his proposals.

Addressing the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, Michael Veitch, Scotland Policy Officer for CARE, noted that the evidence from Canada and the Netherlands “clearly demonstrates that once you concede the principle” of assisted suicide, it becomes “very, very difficult to put this back in the bottle”.

Dr Miro Griffiths of Not Dead Yet UK commented: “One of my strongest messages to all of you really is do you want a society where everybody has access to assisted suicide? Because that’s ultimately where you will go down unless we believe in exceptionalism”.

And Dr Gillian Wright, Director of Our Duty of Care, said there are “real concerns” that GPs would never have adequate time to make a “proper capacity assessment” of a patient seeking assisted suicide.