Assisted dying supporters cheer as Bill passes Commons hurdle

Supporters of the assisted dying Bill wept and hugged each other outside Parliament as the news came through that it had been passed by MPs.

The crowd in Parliament Square erupted into cheers on Friday afternoon as they watched the results on their phones.

MP Kim Leadbeater, who sponsored the private member’s Bill, joined the crowd to celebrate.

There was a crush of photographers and journalists as the Labour MP walked over to Parliament Square.

People shouted “thank you Kim” as she was mobbed by members of the public, activists, and the press.

Speaking to the press, Ms Leadbeater said: “It’s been tough, you know, these families have campaigned on this issue for years.

“I know what it means to people, if we hadn’t achieved what we achieved today I’d have let them down.

“I’m also really proud and really pleased that we had a very respectful debate in Parliament.

“It was robust but it was compassionate.

“Lots of people with different views, and I think Parliament showed itself in its best light today, and I’m very proud of that.”

One supporter, Anil Douglas, 35, from Walthamstow, London, burst into tears when he heard the news the Bill had passed.

“I’m incredibly relieved,” he said.

“I’m over the moon. MPs have voted for a safer, kinder, more compassionate future for dying people.

“I think it’s wonderful.”

Anil’s father Ian Douglas took his own life after suffering from MS for years.

“I feel very much like his son today,” he said.

“He was an active campaigner in various causes throughout his life.

“Being here today, in his memory, and in his honour, fighting for a change I know he would have benefited from and would have supported, means the world to me.”

Another supporter, Joshua Cook, 33, from Huddersfield, who has Huntington’s disease, an incurable neurodegenerative disease, said it was a “relief”.

“It is a weight off my mind, as a terminally ill person, and you can just look around here, at people who are truly affected by this,” he said.

“It’s a relief, it’s history, finally we are getting towards having a society that shows love and compassion above the need to just keep people alive.”

He said it was a personal relief for him.

“For me personally it means that for my end of life now I have options,” he said.

“When my illness becomes too much for me, my Huntington’s starts to take its toll, I will have the recourse and the ability to make a choice and take control back.”

He added: “It’s 10 years too late for my mother, 10 years too late for people who inspired me.

“But finally Kim has done something incredible, she has given hope and love back to the people.”

MPs voted 330 to 275, majority 55, to approve the measure.