MPs’ opposition to assisted dying bill grows amid criticism of lack of debate

Chair of parliamentary group against assisted dying says she has been meeting dozens of undecided MPs

Opposition to the assisted dying bill is growing in parliament after the interventions of the health and justice secretaries to call for caution – and a backlash among new MPs who are angered by the speed of the legislation.

Rachael Maskell, the former Labour shadow minister who chairs the Dying Well all-party parliamentary group against assisted dying, told the Guardian she and others had been meeting dozens of undecided MPs and hoped to persuade them to vote down the bill and push instead for a wide-ranging commission that would explore better palliative care.