Sarco suicide pods will be coming to UK, says developer: MPs say Assisted Dying Bill is so well supported it is likely to be passed

Sarco ‘death capsules’ are set to come to the UK if assisted dying becomes legal, the doctor behind the creation has said – as some MPs say legislation will be passed.

Dr Phillip Nitschke, 77, has revealed he is ready to launch his portable 3D printed nitrogen-filled machine in the UK if Kim Leadbeater’s regulations are adopted.

This week, parliamentarians will take part in a vote on legalizing assisted dying for terminally ill people after an intensified quarrel on Sunday over the minister’s criticism of the draft bill.

Ms Leadbeater’s legislation will be tabled in the House of Commons on Friday after the first debate and vote of its kind in the House since 2015.

MPs will have a free vote on this matter, which will enable them to make decisions in accordance with their own conscience, and not with party policy.

Dr. Nitschke said his machine could prove popular with people who choose assisted dying but don’t want to end their lives with lethal injections or drug cocktails.

He told The Telegraph: “I think it will just be an additional option for those who don’t want a needle and who don’t want a drink.”

The ruling came after Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood criticized the legislation and made clear she would vote against it in a strongly worded letter to voters over the weekend.

Mahmood said the bill could open the door to a “slippery slope towards death on demand”, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting also faced backlash for suggesting it could cost the NHS more.

In a letter last month, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said the government would remain neutral and suggested ministers avoid participating in public debate on the issue.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did not want to say how he would vote, arguing that he did not want to put pressure on other MPs.

On this issue, the Council of Ministers is divided and most members are for it rather than against it.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband have said they will support the new law.

Others, including Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, were less outspoken but expressed their support for the bill’s measures.

Meanwhile, Mahmood, Streets and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds have said they will reject the bill.

On Sunday morning, Kendall defended her cabinet colleagues who expressed “strong opinions” on the bill.

However, Labor Party Lord Lord Falconer, a former Justice Secretary and long-time supporter of changing the law, criticized the Justice Secretary’s intervention on Sunday.

He told the Guardian that ministers speaking out against the bill are “spectacularly breaking the rules” and giving the “false impression” that their departments are also against it.

“People who break the rules are getting more and more attention because they break them in such a spectacular way,” he said.

Supporters of the bill are optimistic it has enough support for the legislation to clear its first hurdle in the House of Commons, but the result will only be known when a post-vote breakdown list showing how MPs voted is published.

Supporters say existing laws do not respect patient autonomy and financially discriminate against those who can afford to go abroad to end their lives legally and those who cannot.

Many people opposed to changing the law expressed concern about the potential for coercion and mission creep, saying the legislation was rushed.

On Sunday, a group of 29 religious leaders united to oppose the bill in a joint letter, expressing “deep concern” that it could create the potential for “life-threatening abuses.”

Ms Leadbeater described the Terminally Ill (End of Life) Act as the most “robust” in the world, requiring “three levels of control” in the form of a signature by two doctors and a High Court judge.

It would also make coercion a crime punishable by 14 years in prison.

The bill, which covers England and Wales, states that only terminally ill adults who have less than six months to live and who have an established wish to die will be eligible.

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