Latest news with #MarkGarnier
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
UK lawmakers approve assisted-dying law
Advertisement 'I do not underestimate the significance of this day,' Kim Leadbeater, a Labour Party lawmaker and main champion of the bill, said Friday as she opened the debate. 'This is not a choice for living and dying. It is a choice for terminally ill people about how they die.' While assisted dying is illegal in most countries, a growing number of nations and jurisdictions have adopted legislation or are considering it. In England and Wales, assisting a death remains illegal and punishable by up to 14 years in prison. A poll published this week found that 73 percent of Britons backed the assisted-dying bill. While lawmakers voted in favor of the bill in November, at an earlier stage in the legislative process, uncertainty lingered ahead of Friday's vote. Hundreds of demonstrators on both sides gathered outside Parliament. Some carried placards that read, 'Let Us Choose.' Others held signs saying, 'Don't make doctors killers.' Advertisement Many of those who spoke during the debate shared personal stories. Mark Garnier, a Conservative Party politician, spoke about witnessing the dying days of his mother, who had pancreatic cancer and endured a 'huge amount of pain.' Garnier compared her ordeal to that of a constituent who also had pancreatic cancer but went through a state-provided assisted-dying program in Spain that made her 'suffering much less.' Josh Babarinde, a Liberal Democrat, read out a letter from a constituent traumatized by the death of her partner, who struggled to breathe, was incontinent, and repeatedly asked for her help to end his life. He then 'stuffed yards of his top sheet into his mouth' in an attempt to die,' Babarinde said, adding: 'This could have been avoided with an assisted-dying' law. Support for the measure ebbed in recent months, with a handful of politicians saying that they were going to switch their vote due to concerns about inadequate safeguards or insufficient end-of-life care. Steve Darling, a Liberal Democrat, told The Washington Post that while he was 'sympathetic' to the bill, he had changed his view because of 'inadequate' palliative care funding, which in Britain depends heavily on charitable donations. 'People might think, 'I could bite the bullet and get out of this situation because I'm not receiving a service that gives me a decent quality of life toward the end,'' Darling said. Others who said they agreed with the principle of letting people choose to die but could not back the bill included Labour member Vicky Foxcroft, who cited her work with disabled people. 'They want us as parliamentarians to assist them to live, not to die,' Foxcroft told Parliament. Advertisement The issue remains divisive even within parties. Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, whose departments will each be impacted if the change becomes law, both opposed the bill. Prime Minister Keir Starmer made it clear that he supports the measure, citing his experience as the country's former chief prosecutor. Over the past two decades, more than 3,900 Britons have ended their lives with the Switzerland-based organization Dignitas. A few people who helped them were investigated or arrested. The vote Friday was a free vote, meaning that lawmakers could decide based on their own conscience rather than along party lines. It was the second time this week that Parliament held a free vote, which is often allowed on issues of ethics or conscience. Earlier this week, lawmakers voted in favor of decriminalizing abortion in England and Wales. One major revision to the bill in recent months was to eliminate the need for approval from a high court judge. No other country or jurisdiction with legalized assisted dying has that kind of stringent judicial oversight, and it was initially sold to some wavering lawmakers as a reason to back the bill. That requirement was dropped in favor of a three-person expert panel — a lawyer, social worker, and psychiatrist — that will oversee applications. Leadbeater said this would make the bill stronger, as members of the panel would have more relevant expertise and would be better able to spot red flags. Spain uses a similar kind of expert panel. Some professional bodies, such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists, remain neutral on the principle of assisted dying but opposed the legislation as written. Their concerns included the shortage of qualified staff for the expert panels. Advertisement The government's own 'impact assessment' found that the law could lead to 7,500 requests a year within a decade. Some campaigners had hoped for greater eligibility, to include patients experiencing unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement, or allowing a doctor to administer a lethal cocktail of drugs. This bill allows assisted dying only for terminally ill patients who can administer the medication themselves. Speaking in Parliament, Peter Prinsley, a Labour lawmaker, said that 'as a young doctor, I found the measures that we're debating today completely unconscionable.' However, he added, 'now that I'm an old doctor, I feel sure this is an essential change.' 'We are not dealing with life or death, rather death or death,' Prinsley said. 'And fundamental to that is surely choice. Who are we to deny that to the dying?'
The Independent
17 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
MPs share their own stories as assisted dying debate continues
Had assisted dying been available previously, moments with loved ones might have been 'lost', MPs have heard. Debating the proposal to roll out assisted dying in the UK, Sir James Cleverly described losing his 'closest friend earlier this year' and said his opposition did not come from 'a position of ignorance'. The Conservative former minister said he and 'the vast majority' of lawmakers were 'sympathetic with the underlying motivation of' the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, 'which is to ease suffering in others and to try and avoid suffering where possible'. But he warned MPs not to 'sub-contract' scrutiny of the draft new law to peers, if the Bill clears the Commons after Friday's third reading debate. Backing the proposal, Conservative MP Mark Garnier said 'the time has come where we need to end suffering where suffering can be put aside, and not try to do something which is going to be super perfect and allow too many more people to suffer in the future'. He told MPs that his mother died after a 'huge amount of pain', following a diagnosis in 2012 of pancreatic cancer. Sir James, who described himself as an atheist, said: 'I've had this said to me on a number of occasions, 'if you had seen someone suffering, you would agree with this Bill'. 'Well, Mr Speaker, I have seen someone suffering – my closest friend earlier this year died painfully of oesophageal cancer and I was with him in the final weeks of his life. 'So I come at this not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance.' Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden Dame Siobhain McDonagh intervened in Sir James's speech and said: 'On Tuesday, it is the second anniversary of my sister's death. 'Three weeks prior to her death, we took her to hospital because she had a blood infection, and in spite of agreeing to allow her into intensive care to sort out that blood infection, the consultant decided that she shouldn't go because she had a brain tumour and she was going to die. 'She was going to die, but not at that moment. 'I'm sure Mr Speaker can understand that a very big row ensued. I won that row. 'She was made well, she came home and she died peacefully.' Asked what might have happened if assisted dying was an option, Sir James replied: 'She asks me to speculate into a set of circumstances which are personal and painful, and I suspect she and I both know that the outcome could have been very, very different, and the moments that she had with her sister, just like the moments I had with my dear friend, those moments might have been lost.' He had earlier said MPs 'were promised the gold-standard, a judicially underpinned set of protections and safeguards', which were removed when a committee scrutinised the Bill. He added: 'I've also heard where people are saying, 'well, there are problems, there are still issues, there are still concerns I have', well, 'the Lords will have their work to do'. 'But I don't think it is right and none of us should think that it is right to sub-contract our job to the other place (the House of Lords).' Mr Garnier, who is also a former minister, told the Commons he had watched 'the start of the decline for something as painful and as difficult as pancreatic cancer' after his mother's diagnosis. 'My mother wasn't frightened of dying at all,' he continued. 'My mother would talk about it and she knew that she was going to die, but she was terrified of the pain, and on many occasions she said to me and Caroline my wife, 'can we make it end?'' Mr Garnier later added: 'Contrary to this, I found myself two or three years ago going to the memorial service of one of my constituents who was a truly wonderful person, and she too had died of pancreatic cancer. 'But because she had been in Spain at the time – she spent quite a lot of time in Spain with her husband – she had the opportunity to go through the state-provided assisted dying programme that they do there. 'And I spoke to her widower – very briefly, but I spoke to him – and he was fascinating about it. He said it was an extraordinary, incredibly sad thing to have gone through, but it was something that made her suffering much less.' He said he was 'yet to be persuaded' that paving the way for assisted dying was 'a bad thing to do', and added: 'The only way I can possibly end today is by going through the 'aye' lobby.' Glasgow North East MP Maureen Burke said her brother David was aged 52 when he went to hospital with what he later learned was advanced pancreatic cancer. The Labour MP said David suffered in 'silent pain' with ever stronger painkillers before his death, and added: 'One of the last times when he still was able to speak, he called out to me from his bed and told me if there was a pill that he could take to end his life, he would very much like to take that.' The Bill would apply in England and Wales, not in Scotland where members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are considering separate legislation, but Ms Burke said she spoke to 'ask colleagues to make sure that others don't go through' what her brother faced. If MPs back the Bill at third reading, it will face further scrutiny in the Lords at a later date.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
MPs share their own stories as assisted dying debate continues
Had assisted dying been available previously, moments with loved ones might have been 'lost', MPs have heard. Debating the proposal to roll out assisted dying in the UK, Sir James Cleverly described losing his 'closest friend earlier this year' and said his opposition did not come from 'a position of ignorance'. The Conservative former minister said he and 'the vast majority' of lawmakers were 'sympathetic with the underlying motivation of' the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, 'which is to ease suffering in others and to try and avoid suffering where possible'. But he warned MPs not to 'sub-contract' scrutiny of the draft new law to peers, if the Bill clears the Commons after Friday's third reading debate. Backing the proposal, Conservative MP Mark Garnier said 'the time has come where we need to end suffering where suffering can be put aside, and not try to do something which is going to be super perfect and allow too many more people to suffer in the future'. He told MPs that his mother died after a 'huge amount of pain', following a diagnosis in 2012 of pancreatic cancer. Sir James, who described himself as an atheist, said: 'I've had this said to me on a number of occasions, 'if you had seen someone suffering, you would agree with this Bill'. 'Well, Mr Speaker, I have seen someone suffering – my closest friend earlier this year died painfully of oesophageal cancer and I was with him in the final weeks of his life. 'So I come at this not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance.' Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden Dame Siobhain McDonagh intervened in Sir James's speech and said: 'On Tuesday, it is the second anniversary of my sister's death. 'Three weeks prior to her death, we took her to hospital because she had a blood infection, and in spite of agreeing to allow her into intensive care to sort out that blood infection, the consultant decided that she shouldn't go because she had a brain tumour and she was going to die. 'She was going to die, but not at that moment. 'I'm sure Mr Speaker can understand that a very big row ensued. I won that row. 'She was made well, she came home and she died peacefully.' Asked what might have happened if assisted dying was an option, Sir James replied: 'She asks me to speculate into a set of circumstances which are personal and painful, and I suspect she and I both know that the outcome could have been very, very different, and the moments that she had with her sister, just like the moments I had with my dear friend, those moments might have been lost.' He had earlier said MPs 'were promised the gold-standard, a judicially underpinned set of protections and safeguards', which were removed when a committee scrutinised the Bill. He added: 'I've also heard where people are saying, 'well, there are problems, there are still issues, there are still concerns I have', well, 'the Lords will have their work to do'. 'But I don't think it is right and none of us should think that it is right to sub-contract our job to the other place (the House of Lords).' Mr Garnier, who is also a former minister, told the Commons he had watched 'the start of the decline for something as painful and as difficult as pancreatic cancer' after his mother's diagnosis. 'My mother wasn't frightened of dying at all,' he continued. 'My mother would talk about it and she knew that she was going to die, but she was terrified of the pain, and on many occasions she said to me and Caroline my wife, 'can we make it end?'' Mr Garnier later added: 'Contrary to this, I found myself two or three years ago going to the memorial service of one of my constituents who was a truly wonderful person, and she too had died of pancreatic cancer. 'But because she had been in Spain at the time – she spent quite a lot of time in Spain with her husband – she had the opportunity to go through the state-provided assisted dying programme that they do there. 'And I spoke to her widower – very briefly, but I spoke to him – and he was fascinating about it. He said it was an extraordinary, incredibly sad thing to have gone through, but it was something that made her suffering much less.' He said he was 'yet to be persuaded' that paving the way for assisted dying was 'a bad thing to do', and added: 'The only way I can possibly end today is by going through the 'aye' lobby.' Glasgow North East MP Maureen Burke said her brother David was aged 52 when he went to hospital with what he later learned was advanced pancreatic cancer. The Labour MP said David suffered in 'silent pain' with ever stronger painkillers before his death, and added: 'One of the last times when he still was able to speak, he called out to me from his bed and told me if there was a pill that he could take to end his life, he would very much like to take that.' The Bill would apply in England and Wales, not in Scotland where members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are considering separate legislation, but Ms Burke said she spoke to 'ask colleagues to make sure that others don't go through' what her brother faced. If MPs back the Bill at third reading, it will face further scrutiny in the Lords at a later date.
Qatar Tribune
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Shura Council speaker meets UK parliament delegation
DOHA: Shura Council Speaker HE Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim has held talks with a UK Parliament delegation, on the sidelines of the ongoing Qatar Economic Forum 2025. Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury) Mark Garnier chaired the visiting delegation. On the table were ways to foster bilateral parliamentary relations, along with a range of topics of mutual interest. The two sides took stock of the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, with Al Ghanim stressing the need for parliaments to fulfil their moral and humanitarian role in mobilising efforts to halt the Israeli aggression on the enclave, obligating the occupying government to implement the provisions of international humanitarian law and all international conventions and resolutions, and ensuring a humanitarian aid access.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why HMRC's plot to raid your bank account spells disaster
MPs have accused HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of putting savers at risk over new plans to automatically seize unpaid taxes from bank accounts. Account holders who fail to pay their tax debts face having their bank accounts raided by HMRC under new powers confirmed after the Spring Statement. However, MPs and tax advisers accused the tax authority of going 'a step too far' in its attempts to close the tax gap. Others sounded the alarm over the risk of errors, and warned savers would have to go to court to reclaim incorrectly seized payments. Conservative MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said the new powers would create a 'tyranny of the state'. He said: 'Anything that allows government bodies to grab other people's property without redress is an attack on freedom. 'The right to own property is a common law right which protects us all against the excessive power of bureaucrats and governments. This will create a tyranny of the state.' Mark Garnier, Conservative MP for Wyre Forest and shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, said: 'We must all contribute our fair share to support the public services that we value. But allowing HMRC direct access to bank accounts is a step too far.' Under reforms being considered, the tax office would be allowed to use the powers if the debt exceeded £1,000, and provided at least £5,000 would be left in the taxpayer's account. The so-called 'direct recovery of debts' was originally unveiled in 2014 before being paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. The plans to raid taxpayers' bank accounts also triggered a backlash from MPs when they were first announced. The Treasury Select Committee said at the time: 'This policy is highly dependent on HMRC's ability to accurately determine which taxpayers owe money and what amounts they owe, an ability not always demonstrated in the past.' In 2014, The Telegraph revealed that HMRC's mistakes had led to 5.5 million workers overpaying or underpaying tax through the pay as you earn (PAYE) system in 2013-14. In response to the criticisms, the Government strengthened the safeguards around the policy – for example by guaranteeing face-to-face visits from HMRC to give debtors the chance to settle their affairs. But Mr Garnier – one of the MPs who slammed the proposals in 2014 – said he remained 'extremely concerned' despite the reforms. He said: 'The problem is that this power allows them [HMRC] to get access without the necessity of getting a court order – and HMRC is taking this power to act in their own interest as the collecting agency. There are some caveats and controls to all this.' He continued: 'However, the key point is if HMRC takes money in error, the person from whom they have taken the money then has to go to court to get it back. This is a reversal of the basic foundation of our justice system. 'The plaintiff must prove their innocence, rather than the accuser (HMRC) prove their guilt. Only by going to court can the wronged, honest taxpayer recover their money in the event of an error.' Nimesh Shah, of accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg, said he was concerned about how aggressively HMRC would use this restated power – 'especially in a different climate where there is increased pressure to close the tax gap so the Chancellor can balance the books'. He added: 'I hope that HMRC takes a pragmatic approach, and also gives taxpayers plenty of notice and raises awareness that this process is now restarting.' HMRC seized £178m from over 22,000 debtors' accounts between 2016 and 2018. However, most payments were prompted by a phone call or a meeting with the debtor. Less than £362,000 was clawed back using its direct recovery powers. Mr Shah said: 'To me, it seemed that the direct recovery of debts was a deterrent rather than actually imposed, but we need to remember that the initial launch was quite narrow.' HMRC said it will be engaging with stakeholders including debt advice charities about the safeguards before it starts using the powers again. It said taxpayers affected will have been contacted about their debt multiple times, and will have had the opportunity to agree to a payment plan. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is hoping to bring in an extra £800m in revenue by 2029-30 by investing in HMRC's debt collection capacity. The Government is also paving the way for a tax crackdown on savers with a consultation on plans that would compel banks to hand over more sensitive customer data to HMRC. The consultation includes proposals that would make it easier for HMRC to collect bank and building society interest (BBSI) out of workers' pay packets. HMRC already adjusts workers' tax codes to collect unpaid tax on savings interest, but it is hoping to do this more quickly using a greater volume of third-party data. In documents published last week, the tax office said: 'The department already adjusts PAYE tax codes for BBSI income as part of its annual reconciliation process – timely financial account data will enable tax codes to reflect a more up-to-date position for taxpayers'. A spokesman for HMRC said: 'It is unacceptable that people choose not to pay the tax they owe when they can afford to. 'These existing powers are an effective incentive to pay and were used only 19 times in two years. They're subject to robust safeguards and we'll continue to support customers who need help with their payments.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
