Members of the House of Lords have voted against a move to grant immunity from prosecution to those taking terminally ill people abroad to die.

The measure, which has been strongly opposed by the Church, would have made it legal to assist the suicide of a relative or friend in a clinic overseas.

Among those who spoke during the debate recently was the Anglican Bishop of Exeter, Michael Langrish, who has a 30-year-old daughter with Down’s syndrome. “One of the prime functions of law is to protect the weak,” said the bishop.

“So let us be very wary of any changes to the law that are based on an assumption that all human beings are like us: confident, articulate and used to choosing the direction of their lives. For many others, choice is not always a promise: it can feel like a threat.”