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Assisted Dying

I take on board that point, Mr. Martlew. I shall make just a couple of final points. The Law Commission has recommended a review of the way in which mercy killing is treated under the law, but the Government and the Ministry of Justice have not established such a review. In a written answer to me on 24 April, my hon. Friend the Minister said that the Government had no plans to do that, despite the fact that changes proposed by the Ministry of Justice to the law of murder could result in genuine mercy killings resulting in life sentences for murder. Such harsh treatment is unfair and goes against public feeling. I understand why the Government are making the proposed changes, but the effect could be that the benign sentencing that we have come to expect or to know in relation to genuine mercy killings is replaced by long custodial sentences. The whole area is murky, and I ask the Minister to adhere to the Law Commission’s recommendation for a consultation on mercy killing, which would be in everyone’s best interest.