Downing Street Says » Assisted suicide

Asked whether the Prime Minister was sympathetic towards the proposed amendments to the Coroner’s Criminal Justice Bill, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that the Government’s position was that we believed that any change in the law in this area was an issue for individual MP’s and a matter for parliament to decide rather than Government policy.

The Prime Minister had made his personal opposition to any change clear, but that was his personal view. On the question of this particular amendment, as we had said in the past, we considered the matter to be most appropriately dealt with through a Private Members Bill (PMB). Asked whether a vote next week for instance would be whipped at all, the PMS repeated that it was an issue of individual conscience and a matter for Parliament and Members rather than for Government policy.

Put that that would suggest a free vote whilst also indicating that the matter would be dealt with by a PMB, the PMS replied that we had set out that it was more appropriately dealt through a PMB because of the emotiveness of the issue and the requirement that it was detailed debate and careful scrutiny. On the issue itself, it was a matter for individual MP’s.

Put that this would be an amendment to a Government bill and normally would be whipped, the PMS said that as far as he was aware, this would be treated as a matter for individual MP’s to decide. Put that if the amendment was passed and it was a Government bill, there would be members of the Government who would not feel able to vote for it, the PMS said he would not speculate on what might happen if amendments were passed or not.

Asked if the Prime Minister was against it, the PMS said that he was not in favour of a change in the law. Asked why that was, the PMS said that it was the Prime Minister’s view that the law as it stands and the decision in individual cases for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) remained the best solution. Asked if the Prime Minister was happy to see the current compromise of the law effectively not being enforced due to the DPP ruling that it was not in the public interest continuing, the PMS said that the Prime Minister’s view was that it was right that decisions on prosecutions should rest with the DPP, which was the position as set out under the law.

It was right that each case should be reviewed individually in the light of all the evidence before the DPP decides whether prosecution should be brought or not.

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» Friday, March 20, 2009

Assisted suicide

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