A former longstanding Merseyside MP has revealed that he is terminally ill.
Frank Field made the admission in a statement at the reading of a Bill which would allow terminally ill adults to legally seek assistance with ending their life
The 79-year-old represented Labour in the Birkenhead ward for four decades before finally losing his seat as an independent at the 2019 General Election.
He was inducted into the House of Lords on a life peerage as Baron Field of Birkenhead last year but was unable to attend Friday’s reading due to illness.
In a message read out by crossbench peer Baroness Meacher, who is leading the bill, Field explained his personal reasons for electing to support the bill.
“I’ve just spent a period in a hospice and I’m not well enough to participate in today’s debate,” his statement read.
“If I had been, I would have spoken strongly in favour of the second reading [of the Bill].
“I changed my mind on assisted dying when an MP friend was dying of cancer and wanted to die early, before the full horror effects set in, but was denied this opportunity.
“A major argument against the Bill is unfounded. It is thought by some the culture would change and people would be pressured into ending their lives.
“The numbers of assisted deaths in the US and Australia remains very low, under 1%, and a former Supreme Court judge in Victoria, Australia, about pressure from relatives, said: ’It just hasn’t been an issue’.
“I hope the House will today vote for the Assisted Dying Bill.”