“WHY MY MUM, PRUE LEITH, IS WRONG ON ASSISTED DYING”

TORY MP Daniel Kruger has explained why he thinks his mum, the Bake Off judge Prue Leith, is wrong to support assisted dying.

In an exclusive GB News interview, Mr Kruger admitted he often argues with his mother over the issue.

Speaking to Gloria De Piero, the MP for Denzies in Wiltshire, who is a devout Christian, also said his faith was probably holding him back from promotion within politics.

Mr Kruger spoke just days ahead of a new TV documentary on Channel 4 which is set to lay bare the differences that exist between him and his famous-mother on assisted dying.

Ms Leith is an outspoken campaigner for people’s right to die, and has previously said: “‘I just feel it’s my life and if I want to end it….I would like to have the option’.

Mr Kruger told GB News: “We do argue. We’ve been having this conversation for years and years. She’s completely impossible. She won’t change her mind, in spite of all the obvious evidence.

“She’s very committed to it, as am I. But you know, and I think the documentary shows this, it’s possible to disagree well on this. And part of the reason we did it was to show that the more people look at and think about it, the more they’ll agree with our side. Because the more people think about it, the more they don’t like assisted dying.

“She wants there to be momentum for this campaign, and I want people to think about it properly, so we thought it was a good idea. It’s also a good idea to have the opportunity to show people disagreeing well, which we need more of in our country.”

Revealing what they discovered in the documentary, he continued: “We went around North America, Canada and some of the American states where they’ve legislated assisted dying. And I’m afraid they provide examples which are the counter argument to her point.

“Obviously I completely respect the idea that no one should get in the way of somebody who wants to end their life. But actually, that is what we do. You know, if somebody is standing on the cliff edge or on a bridge trying to throw themselves off, we do try and stop them. We don’t say, ‘It’s your absolute autonomy to end your life’. We think that it’s a bad move to commit suicide.

“Mum’s point is there are people in terrible physical distress and pain at the end of life who should be allowed to have a doctor administer lethal drugs to them. While I totally understand it in those cases, it’s impossible to draw a line that wouldn’t also mean that we put many vulnerable people at risk. This would include the mentally ill, the disabled, the lonely, and the people who are terrified because they’ve just had a terrible diagnosis.

“That’s the evidence from Canada and elsewhere, that you find many vulnerable people being drawn into an assisted death when their families look back and say, ‘Why did that happen? It should not have happened’.

Asked if he felt confident laws on medically assisted dying would remain the same he continued: “No, I’m not confident. I’ve got a great fear that it’s going to happen and that we will regret it and it’ll be too late to undo it, which is I think what’s happening in Canada.”

Mr Kruger, a devout Christian, also explained the role faith plays in his life.

“I’m a practising Christian,” he said. “And I have a personal faith. I think it’s important to say that everybody has a faith of some sort or another. Everyone has their view of what’s going on in the world, and what we’re here for. They might think there’s nothing out there except themselves. But even then, they bring their values to their life. And I think it’s important to honour and respect the freedom of religion, which includes the atheist religion, and to say that it’s perfectly acceptable and in fact a good thing that we have a diversity of religious views represented in our public life, as long as none of us attempt to impose our views on others.”

Asked if his faith was stopping him climbing the Ministerial ladder he said: “Maybe, yes. I mean, on the face of it, yes, I think it is. I mean, you know, we are naturally religious people, and we want people who share our religion, you know, we like working with them, frankly, even though we talk about diversity. And we’ve got to hold on to the importance of diversity.

“But, you know, the religion of our culture at the moment, I’m afraid, is liberal individualism, it’s not Christianity. So, I’m not part of the governing faith of our country at the moment. So that’s probably a disadvantage to me. On the other hand, I hope people might see and admire the fact that he’s got some beliefs and some values, which are about kindness, forgiveness and tolerance’.

Following a Parliamentary debate last Summer, Mr Kruger was apologised for comments he made about abortion.

Speaking about the US’ abortion ban he said he disagreed that pregnant women had an ‘absolute right to bodily autonomy’.

Expressing further regret he told GB News: “I regret it being misunderstood, but you know, you’ve got to own what you say, and you got to own the reaction. You can’t blame other people for not understanding what you were saying. Abortion is regulated by Parliament, not by the courts, which is why the US has had such an awful culture war for so long.

“A lot of people were very distressed by the comments. And I really sympathise, and I apologise for the distress that I caused for people who misunderstood what I was saying. As I say, I take responsibility for that misunderstanding. I did seek to clarify, and I hope that satisfied people. While I regret the distress that I caused, and I regret being misunderstood. I had no intention of causing any fuss like that.”