Dame Esther’s assisted dying petition delivered to Prime Minister’s doorstep

Rebecca said her mum was ‘wishing us luck’ from her garden (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter knocked on the door of No 10 Downing Street on Thursday on behalf of more than 200,000 people who signed an assisted dying petition.

Rebecca Wilcox handed over a box containing a letter for Rishi Sunak and thousands of coupons filled in by Daily Express readers to show their support.

She said her mother, who has stage four lung cancer, was “wishing us luck from 100 miles away”.

Rebecca, 44, added: “I feel that my mum is with us but I completely understand why she can’t be here and instead is at home, in her beautiful spring garden.

“We are here to stand on the Prime Minister’s doorstep and show what the majority of people in this country want. We are not going to shut up about this any time soon.”

READ MORE: Former archbishop backs assisted dying campaign after ‘conversion’

Rebecca was joined by Dignity in Dying chief executive Sarah Wootton (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

The Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade calls for assisted dying to be legalised for terminally ill adults who are of sound mind and have less than six months to live.

The petition was launched in January after Dame Esther revealed her decision to register with Swiss Dignitas clinic, reigniting the national debate about end of life choices.

The Childline founder, 83, said she did not want painful memories of her final weeks and days to “obliterate all the happy times” for her loved ones.

And she explained that choosing to die at Dignitas would put “my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me, and that means that the police might prosecute them”.

Started by the Express and backed by Dignity in Dying, the petition called on the Government to give MPs a free vote on assisted dying.

Dame Esther said of the Prime Minister: “I’m sure he will be impressed.”

A letter to Rishi Sunak was delivered with coupons from Express readers (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

She went on: “I’d like to thank every single one of those 200,000 signatories. Without them, we wouldn’t be having the debate. It’s really important that they feel represented.

“It’s an excellent way of making sure that the top politicians governing us recognise that there are an awful lot of voices here and they need to be listened to.”

Rebecca has represented her mum at campaign events and supports her decision to speak out about her wishes.

The broadcaster said: “This is one of the more personal fights I have known my mother to take on and the biggest I have been a part of.

“She is a lifelong campaigner but this – with the help of the Express – is something that is so important to so many people.

“It is an incredible moment. It’s no small thing that 200,000 people have signed this petition. It means that the politicians have to listen and take this as seriously as we do.

“It also means that we are going to have the free vote that we wanted and hopefully they will make a rational, logical choice that will prevent thousands of people, like mum, ending their lives in pain.”

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Rebecca was joined in Westminster by three other campaigners who have personal experience with horrific deaths caused by terminal illnesses – Suzie Jee, Matt Ryan, and Gareth Ward.

Dignity in Dying’s chief executive Sarah Wootton also joined the group.

Father-of-two Gareth, whose dad Norman shot himself while suffering from prostate cancer, said: “The amount of support for the campaign lately, triggering a second Parliamentary debate in recent years, is fantastic.

“I’m so glad this debate is happening and I hope it will only keep gaining traction.

“It would mean a lot to my dad to know that momentum is building, and others in the future may have more humane options than he did.”

Matt, whose dad David suffered before dying of blood cancer, was visiting Downing Street for a second time.

In February, he joined the Express at a meeting with the Prime Minister, where Mr Sunak pledged that he would change the law if MPs vote for it.

Matt said: “My dad would have been really proud for the petition to have got to this point. For us to be here today to hand it in would mean the world to him.

“It should reinforce information the Prime Minister should already have, which is that there’s huge support for changing the law.

“He should take that to heart and put all his support behind it when it gets to Parliament.”

Ms Wottoon said the group represented all those fighting fighting for a “better, safer, kinder law on assisted dying”.

She added: “To be joined at Downing Street by Rebecca, Gareth, Suzie and Matt – who have all given so much to this campaign and shared such painful personal experiences – was a privilege.

“But we represented many more people – the more than 200,000 who have signed Dame Esther’s petition, and the 75% of people across the country who are demanding change.”

The petition has also triggered a landmark Westminster Hall debate on Monday.

Ms Wootton said: “When MPs debate assisted dying for the first time in two years, they should have these people’s voices and stories at the forefront of their minds.

“It is a huge opportunity to show their constituents that they are not prepared to support a law that is dangerous, unpopular and cruel; that instead they agree that dying people should have proper choice, compassion and protection.

“Make no mistake, assisted dying laws are coming to the British Isles. Westminster must catch up.”

I want to choose how I depart this life, says SUZIE JEE

I was diagnosed with incurable bone cancer six years ago. At the moment it’s “smouldering”, which means it hasn’t progressed.

It certainly focuses one’s mind on departure from this life and what I want to happen.

My father also took his own life while suffering from cancer when I was in my 20s. And I cared for many terminally ill patients during my time as a nurse. 

I want to die with my full mental faculties, with my loved ones with me.

Modern medicine helps people live so much longer but sometimes I feel that doctors prolong life to the extent that actually there is no quality of life left.

I believe in patient autonomy, so that patients are fully informed about whether further treatment is worth it or whether it may be better to let the disease take its course.

I want to have the freedom to choose the way that I depart this life. If I need to, I will make arrangements to go to Switzerland.

I have been involved with campaigning for assisted dying for over 10 years and have seen things change massively.

Our fight is gathering momentum, especially after Dame Esther’s intervention.

Bringing this petition to Downing Street is another step in the right direction, raising the profile of our cause.

It’s hard to know what will happen after the election. At the moment, I’m more hopeful that Labour would tackle the issue than the Conservatives.

But I hope that these 200,000 signatures will send a powerful message to Rishi Sunak that this matters to the people and requires urgent attention.

After all, politicians are there to represent the electorate and they should not lose sight of that.

What more do we have to do to get those politicians who still oppose a change in the law to see that those of us who are of sound mind should have this choice?

– Suzie Jee is an assisted dying campaigner and one of the petitioners

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