Wes Streeting said he had not intended to “wade into the debate” about legalising assisted dying but was asked a question about his stance and “gave an honest answer”.

       The Health Secretary told Labour MPs at a meeting of the parliamentary party last week that he will vote against the Bill to legalise assisted dying over concerns regarding the state of palliative care in the UK.

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       The intervention was highly significant given that ministers were warned by the Cabinet Secretary not to share their views at the dispatch box or in the media.

       Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning, Mr Streeting defended the intervention, saying: “The Government is neutral. Ministers are able to vote however we want. We’re subjected to a free vote.

       “I hadn’t actually intended to wade into the debate last week. I was asked the question at a private meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party by a colleague, and I gave an honest answer.”

       Explaining his stance, the Health Secretary said: “I’ve come down this time on voting against the Bill on the basis that I worry about palliative care, end-of-life care not being good enough to give people a real choice.

       “I worry about the risk of people being coerced into taking this route towards the end of their life.

       “And I also worry, even where you’ve got really loving families who are very supportive, I really worry about those people who think they’ve almost got a duty to die to relieve the burden on their loved ones, and I’ve had to weigh those issues up against the very powerful arguments on the other side of the argument as well.”

       Mr Streeting is now the second member of the Cabinet to explicitly state that he will vote against the legislation, after Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary.

       The proposals, which MPs will have a free vote on in November, would allow those who have six months to live to be assisted to end their life, subject to safeguards.

       Mr Streeting previously voted to legalise assisted dying in 2015, but has since reversed his stance ahead of next month’s landmark vote and will not back a law change.

       Kim Leadbeater, the backbench Labour MP behind the the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, has described it as a “very robust piece of legislation” with “layers and layers of protections” built in.