Dame Prue Leith tells of ‘deep outrage’ at Lords delay to assisted dying Bill

Dame Prue Leith said there is a “deep outrage at what is happening” with the assisted dying Bill in the House of Lords amid concerns it will run out of time to become law.

The chef and television presenter said there is an “obvious obstruction” by peers opposed to the Bill, which will fail if it does not complete all its parliamentary stages before the end of the current session in May.

Opponents of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill have been continually accused of trying to “talk out” the Bill as it makes its way through the upper chamber.

However, many insist they are simply doing their job of scrutinising a Bill, which they argue is not safe in its current form and needs to be strengthened.

The Bill was passed by MPs in the Commons in June last year by a majority of 23.

Dame Prue has been a prominent campaigner in support of assisted dying after watching her brother David suffer a “slow and agonising” death from bone cancer.

In a statement after making the Women in Westminster: The 100 list for her advocacy on the issue, she said: “Being named on this list is humbling, but it means nothing if this Bill is allowed to fall in the Lords due to obvious obstruction. The public has not looked away.

“MPs and peers on all sides of this debate feel the same deep outrage at what is happening.

“The eyes of this country remain fixed on the ultimate goal, democracy being upheld, an end to this cruel status quo, and the introduction of a safe, compassionate law that this country can be proud of.”

Dame Prue, who announced her departure from popular Channel 4 baking show The Great British Bake Off in January, is at odds with her son, Reform UK MP Danny Kruger, who opposes the legislation.

Dame Esther Rantzen was also named on the 100 Women list and dedicated the honour to fellow campaigners and the bereaved.

She said: “This honour belongs to them. It is their courage and determination that has enabled us to reach this historic moment, and the best reward for them will be for Parliament to reform the current cruel messy criminal law, and for democracy to prevail.”

The assisted dying Bill proposes allowing adults with terminal illnesses in England and Wales who have fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.

Among those opposed in the Lords are Baroness Luciana Berger, who has previously said there is “deep concern about the lack of detail in the assisted dying Bill and how it would work in practice”.