coercion

“The vast majority of officers are corrupted as a result of conditioning, manipulation, coercion and blackmail, while being badly trained, poorly led and inadequately supervised,” he adds.

Critics of her measure have raised fears of coercion and a slippery slope to wider legislation taking in more people.

Speaking on Tuesday, Leadbeater rejected these claims, saying her bill had “three layers of scrutiny,” requiring sign-offs from two doctors and a High Court judge, and made coercion punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

They would need to be satisfied that a patient's choice has been made without pressure or coercion.

But the debate has raised questions about how terminally-ill people could be safeguarded and coercion avoided - with criticism of the proposal coming from both Labour and Conservative politicians.