Esther Rantzen has aimed fire at the Health Secretary (Image: Getty)
Dame said she was “disappointed” in over his “vocal opposition” to the
The Health Secretary sparked controversy after suggesting the proposals could lead to other NHS cuts.
He has ordered officials to look at the costs for the health service of implementing any changes in the law on assisted dying.
Dame Esther, who is terminally ill, told LBC: “I think this is an issue which shouldn’t actually be decided by cost.
“But certainly if this bill is passed during the committee stage, the Government has said that they will ensure there is an analysis of the impact at all levels in all departments.
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Wes Streeting said the proposal could lead to more NHS costs (Image: Getty)
“And that is right. We need to know how to make it work efficiently, easily and well for everybody involved.
“Wes Streeting has disappointed me because ministers were asked not to campaign and he has been very vocal in his opposition.
“But there are other ministers in his department who take the opposite view, so I’m sure that it will be dealt with in a proper way.”
The 84-year-old broadcaster has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow assisted dying.
She revealed in December last year that she had joined Dignitas, to give her the choice of an assisted death in Switzerland.
It comes as MPs will debate and vote on Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the Commons tomorrow.
It will be a free vote which allows MPs to decide in line with their conscience rather than being whipped by their parties.
Of the 650 MPs, most have yet to reveal publicly how they will vote, including Prime Minister Sir .
He previously supported a change in the law in 2015 when the last assisted dying Bill in the Commons was rejected.
The Cabinet is split on the issue, with Mr Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood intending to vote no, while Energy Secretary and former Labour leader Ed Miliband is supporting the Bill alongside Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
The Bill, which covers England and Wales only, proposes terminally ill adults with less than six months to live who have a settled wish to die should have the option to do so.
The legislation is backed by the Daily Express’s Give Us Our Last Rites crusade.
Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights campaign
The Express’s launched two years ago with the The father-of-two feared that, like his daughter Katie, he would suffer a slow and agonising death from his incurable cancer.
David’s powerful appeal led to more articles about those affected by the ban on assisted dying.
Working with campaigners Dignity in Dying, we have travelled far to make the case for change.
There was , who held her husband Andrew’s hand as he took a drug overdose when his terminal cancer became too much.
There was, whose wife Helen died of suffocation after she declined her ventilator while dying of motor neurone disease.
And there was , who accompanied her husband Geoff to Dignitas at a cost of £14,000.
Recently, and added her voice to calls for a fairer, more compassionate system.
She launched a petition in January 2024 with the charity Dignity in Dying and the Daily Express calling for a debate and a free vote by MPs on assisted dying.