'Living wills' plans face Lords revolt

The Government was warned today it could face a fresh revolt in the Lords over its plans for "living wills."

The controversial Mental Capacity Bill scraped through the Commons only after a last minute climbdown by ministers.

Opponents claim it would lead to "back-door euthanasia" by allowing patients to decide in advance to refuse medical treatment. Defeat was staved off after Lord Falconer pledged to strengthen the safeguards when the Bill goes to the Lords.

In a letter to the Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff, the Most Rev Peter Smith, Lord Falconer said the Government did not want the Bill to "authorise any decision where the motive is to kill, as opposed to relieving or preventing suffering, or ending treatment where the patient is in an irreversible coma."

While the retreat was welcomed, peers say they want to see the fine print before agreeing to back the legislation. The Archbishop said he also wanted to see any details of the changes. "In principle, I think they have conceded the point," he told the BBC.

Labour MP Claire Curtis-Thomas, one of 34 Labour MPs to vote against the Bill, warned that the Government would face a bigger revolt if the Bill returned from the Lords without the changes having been made.

Iain Duncan Smith, who has led attempts to amend the Bill to safeguard incapacitated patients, said the Government had "pulled a trick" on its backbenchers.