The Backbench Business Committee meets every week to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject. The motion selected for debate on Tuesday concerned assisted suicide.

The proposed motion welcomed the Director of Public Prosecution’s Policy to Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide, which was published in February 2010. The policy identifies sixteen public interest factors in favour of prosecution. These include: Read the full story

Debbie Purdey was told by the law lords that she was entitled to clarity over whether her husband would face prosecution should he help her to take her life in Switzerland. Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, quickly produced an interim policy. Yesterday he unveiled his definitive policy guidelines. Read the full story

The Crown Prosecution Service has this week launched a 12 week public consultation on important changes to the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which is the document that sets out the principles which prosecutors must follow when they decide whether or not to prosecute an individual. Read the full story

Debbie Purdy did not ask the law lords for the right to die. She did not ask that her husband be allowed to help her die. But she did ask for clarity over whether her husband would face prosecution should he help her to take her life in Switzerland. Read the full story

“The public’s right to live in safety and to be protected from criminal conduct lies at the heart of the criminal justice system. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) protect the public by prosecuting firmly and fairly, Read the full story