Former Prime Minister Lord David Cameron has backed moves to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults. In an op-ed in the Times, Lord Cameron said that while he had opposed moves to legalise assisted dying in the past, he believed the current proposal was "not about ending life, it is about shortening death".

Lord David Cameron had previously opposed moves to legalise assisted dying - but has now come out in support for the idea ahead of a debate on Friday

Crucially, however, as many as 150 MPs are still wrestling with what to do, according to some tallies while around 25 are expected to abstain. It means the result is still too close to call as the undecideds could swing it, even just by failing to turn up at all.

David Cameron has become the first former PM to back assisted dying in a major u-turn from his previous vote. Lord Cameron previously opposed the law change amid concerns vulnerable people would be "pressurised into hastening their own deaths".

A proposed law could legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. Spen Valley MP Kim Leadbeater has proposed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. She put forward the bill in October and a debate and first vote will take place on Friday.