Dame Prue Leith: Bake Off star tells of brother’s ‘absolute agony’ before his death as she campaigns for assisted dying
Bake Off star Dame Prue Leith has told Sky News of her older brother’s “absolute agony” before his death, as she campaigns for assisted dying.
Under the Suicide Act 1961, it is a criminal offence to help someone take their own life, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Dame Prue, who is patron of Dignity in Dying, said her brother David died in pain from bone cancer in 2012.
“He was spending every three weeks out of four in absolute agony” before his death, she told The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee.
“For his family to be round while he was crying, begging to die, begging to be given more morphine, it was desperate to watch.”
Dame Prue, who is a judge on TV show The Great British Bake Off, then said: “I’m 84 so I think about this quite often, my younger brother had a really good death, my older brother had the one we described.
“And honestly, I want to die like my younger brother died. At home, free of pain.”
Last May, Dame Prue wrote an open letter to party leaders asking for a debate in parliament on assisted dying, and said that terminally ill people are currently forced “to choose between suffering, suicide and Switzerland”.
She also wrote that “for every day that passes until we reform our law, 17 people will suffer as they die”. So far, the open letter has garnered at least 236,000 signatures, just shy of the 250,000 target.
The star is a patron of Dignity in Dying. File pic: PA
The campaigner said “we’ve had quite good responses” from party leaders so far, and added: “Every single poll that asks people about this has an overwhelming majority in favour of the law being changed so that you don’t have that stark choice.”
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From March: Should govt pass assisted dying bill?
Dame Prue then said: “I feel quite hopeful about this. I think we’re going to have a new government, the word is getting out, more and more MPs are getting over to our side.
“I think in the next parliament, we’re going to have an assisted dying bill that will be humane. In the years to come, people will look back and think ‘why on earth didn’t they do that before?'”
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Presenter Sarah-Jane Mee also asked Dame Prue about her son, Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who opposes the legalisation of assisted dying.
“A lot of Daniel’s arguments is about the worry of not having proper safeguards,” she said, “of people being, you know, bullied into dying by greedy families who want to inherit their money or maybe more sinisterly, by a system”.
“You know, the idea that the NHS, which is desperate for the beds that have been cluttered up at the moment by old people who have nowhere else to go, will sort of suggest to them that they ought to choose an assisted death.
“I think that that’s nonsense.”
Entertainment
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The Duchess of Sussex has delayed the release of her new Netflix series due to the devastation caused by the wildfires in LA, the streaming platform has announced.
Meghan’s eight-part series, With Love, will premiere on 4 March instead of 15 January.
“I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California,” Meghan said in a statement to Tudum, the official companion site to Netflix.
Harry and Meghan comforted volunteers and handed out food to evacuees during a visit to Pasadena on Friday, where they met with the city’s mayor Victor Gordo and emergency workers tackling the Eaton Fire.
Prince Harry and Meghan were seen comforting residents on Friday
Footage showed the duchess, wearing a blue “LA” baseball cap, and the prince hugging and consoling people who had fled to the Pasadena Convention Center.
They were also seen speaking Doug Goodwin, whose home was destroyed in the wildfires, and also to Jose Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) which has been helping feed the public and emergency crews.
Prince Harry and Meghan spoke to Doug Goodwin (centre right), whose home was destroyed and Pasadena mayor Victor Gordo (right) in Altadena, California. Pic: AP
A description of the Netflix series on Tudum’s website said: “Produced by Meghan, ‘With Love, Meghan’ blends practical how-to’s and candid conversation with friends, new and old.
“Meghan shares personal tips and tricks, embracing playfulness over perfection, and highlights how easy it can be to create beauty, even in the unexpected.
“She and her guests roll up their sleeves in the kitchen, the garden, and beyond, and invite you to do the same.”
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The royals live in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, around 90 miles from Los Angeles.
They are understood to have donated supplies, including clothing and children’s items, to people affected by the disaster.
They released a statement on Thursday urging people to help those affected by the wildfires and to open their homes to those evacuated.
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