Lord Falconer: would you buy a right-to-die bill from this man?

Falconer has a long history of good intentions – but the consequences have not always been pretty

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LORD 'CHARLIE' FALCONER is today bringing forward a 'right-to-die' bill in the House of Lords. In a lawyerly piece of pedantry, he will tell peers that the bill will not allow 'assisted suicide' but 'assisted dying'.

It will be couched in all sorts of protective flannel and legal assurances to prevent abuses, limiting its provisions to those due to die within six months. The lethal drugs will be held under strict controls to prevent old folks' homes becoming death hotels.

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is the pseudonym for a London-based political consultant who writes exclusively for The Week.co.uk.