Dame Esther Rantzen 'astonished and relieved' to live to see MPs back assisted dying bill

Dame Esther Rantzen has told ITV News she is "astonished" to have lived to see MPs pass the assisted dying law.

Speaking to ITV News' UK Editor Paul Brand, she said: "It won’t come in my lifetime, I won’t live long enough, but I am so relieved that it will help future generations to be able to look forward with hope and confidence to a good death."

In a historic vote on Friday, MPs voted 314 to 291 in favour of the bill, backing the right for adults with less than six months to live to choose to end their own lives.

"I didn't think it was possible, it's happened, I'm astonished"

The highly emotional debate saw MPs from all political persuasions argue for and against the bill.

Dame Esther, who is terminally ill, has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them.

The 84-year-old has been campaigning for an assisted dying law for years and had previously told ITV News she was "determined" to live to see it passed.

She revealed in December last year that she had joined Dignitas, to give her the choice of an assisted death in Switzerland.

Speaking on Friday, she said she was full of "admiration" for MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the initial private members' bill and has been steering it through Parliament.

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"This is a very emotional topic, it was really important that it was guided through carefully and that all views are respected, and she maintained that."

Dame Esther also said she was "astonished I have lived to see the moment."

She added that Sir Keir Starmer had told her before he became prime minister that he would make sure she witnessed the debate.

She said: "I didn't think it was possible, it's happened, I'm astonished and deeply grateful."

Friday's vote does not mean the bill immediately becomes law as it will now transfer to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

The Upper House can make amendments to the bill and pass it back to MPs but it is expected this process will happen fairly quickly as the final date they can currently consider a Private Members' bill in this parliamentary session is July 11.

There are several more stages of scrutiny in both chambers for the bill to go through before it heads to the King to receive royal assent and become law.

Even with all of these processes it could still be another four years before the first person in the UK is able to legally make use of assisted dying services as the bill allows this time for the government to work out how it is implemented.

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