Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake fears a ‘painful death.’

Mr Hollinrake made the comment as he called for an independent inquiry into assisted dying.

The plea was made in parliament earlier this week, after it received a petition of 155,000 signatures demanding such a debate.

The MP told the House that 74 per cent of the public support such a law and 350 people in his constituency had told him they want this debate.

Mr Hollinrake said he voted for assisted dying in a debate in 2015 and would do so again, but then 74 per cent of MPs voted against assisted dying, which was ‘unsustainable.’

He said: “It is not holding back the tide, it is holding back a wave of support for this.”

The MP described the issue as one of “freedom of choice about the thing we fear most in life: death.”

The 58-year-old continued: “I would say today that I do not actually fear death; I might think differently in a few years’ time—that point in time is getting closer—but I will tell you what I fear, I fear a painful death. I absolutely fear a painful death.”

Some people do have a choice and go to Zurich to die, but others take a ‘natural’ route and it is wrong to take away that choice.

“It is not just about the fear of dying; it is about the fear of what might happen,” he explained.

The MP then quoted a Dr Sandy Brien who spoke of dying from a rare cancer. The doctor said he suffered ‘constant fear’ over what might happen at the end, adding: “For me, assisted dying isn’t about dying; it’s about living.”

Mr Hollinrake continued: “It is about living that last time we have, knowing we have the choice—away from that anxiety, which must be terrible for people nearing these situations—and it is certainly something that I would have wished for my mother when she passed away at the end of 2019. The palliative care was there, but still it was, for all those around her, a traumatic experience.”

He then concluded that an inquiry was needed to look at the arguments for and against, also allowing the UK to look at best practice around the world.

MPs made no decision on the issue as they ‘considered’ the petition, though most appeared to support some form of allowing assisted dying in cases.

However, Conservative MP Danny Kruger said allowing assisted dying would lead to ‘assisted suicide or euthanasia,’ also putting vulnerable people at risk from coercive relatives and underfunded health services.

Fellow Tory Sir Edward Leigh agreed, adding it could put pressure on certain elderly to ask themselves whether they should ‘end it,’ which would also put pressure on GPs.