Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Liz Truss oppose assisted dying law

Former prime ministers Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Liz Truss are all opposed to assisted dying laws, it has been revealed.

Ahead of a crunch House of Commons vote on Friday, the three ex-premiers were said to be against proposed legislation.

MPs are set to consider the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which aims to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, at the end of this week.

It has been introduced to Parliament as a private members' bill by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and will see MPs vote on the issue for the first time since 2015.

But there has been growing opposition to the Bill from politicians, religious leaders and health and legal experts.

A former Cabinet minister has also warned, even if the legislation is passed by Parliament, it would breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dominic Grieve, the ex-Tory MP who was attorney general between 2010 and 2014, suggested Strasbourg-based judges would be likely to block the Bill.

He said this is because it failed to provide 'adequate and appropriate safeguards to protect patients from pressure and abuse'.

'No government that respected the rule of law would have introduced this particular Bill,' Mr Grieve wrote in The Times.

The Government has taken a neutral stance ahead of Friday's debate and MPs are being granted a 'free vote', meaning they won't by told how to vote by party whips.

But there have been ructions within Labour's ranks after top Cabinet ministers revealed they would be voting against the Bill.

PM Sir Keir Starmer will not comment on the proposed legislation ahead of Friday's vote as he does not want to 'put pressure on other people'.

But four former occupants of No10 are opposed to the Bill.

Baroness May is expected to vote against the legislation should it make it to the House of Lords.

Sources close to the ex-premier told the Telegraph her opposition to assisted dying legislation had not changed since she voted against it in 2015.

Ms Truss told the newspaper she was 'completely opposed' to the Bill.

'It is wrong in principle: organs of the state like the NHS and the judicial system should be protecting lives, not ending them,' she said.

'No doubt, as we have seen in Canada, vulnerable people would be put under appalling pressure to end their lives early.

'The law would be ripe for being exploited by the unscrupulous. MPs should vote this terrible Bill down and instead focus on improving health services.'

It was also reported that Mr Johnson would not support the proposed legislation as it currently stands.

Gordon Brown, the former Labour PM, has also voiced opposition to the Bill, insisting better end-of-life care is needed instead of assisted dying.

Ms Leadbeater today defended the level of scrutiny her Bill is being given in Parliament.

It is is due to have a five-hour debate on Friday with a vote expected at the end on whether it should pass through to be scrutinised by a committee.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The route of the private member's bill is absolutely the right route for taking this legislation through.

'That means that there can be a free vote by all MPs. It is not a Government Bill.'

Dame Esther Rantzen has urged 'as many MPs as possible' to attend Friday's debate and listen to the arguments on both sides to make their minds up on assisted dying.

The broadcaster and Childline founder, who is terminally ill, has been a high-profile voice in the conversation for the past year, repeatedly calling for a change in what she has described as the 'cruel' current law.

In an extract from a letter, released through pro-change campaign group Dignity in Dying, Dame Esther said: 'This is such a vital life and death issue, one that we the public care desperately about.

'So it is only right that as many MPs as possible listen to the arguments for and against, and make up your own minds, according to your own conscience, your personal thoughts and feelings.'