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Sir Bernard Jenkin asserted that ‘the question is whether we can safely change the law in a way that does not create new or worse dangers.’ Jim Shannon contended that ‘the right to die for the eloquent and financially well off will become a duty to die for the vulnerable.’

It’s simple, straightforward and will work because we want it to – that’s the message that comes across in advocates’ polling questions, and in increasingly exasperated Commons speeches. But is it true?

Just four years after a packed Commons debated the topic, informed by months of expert briefings and consultations, assisted suicide was dragged back before the House. Why?

MPs pursuing a change in the law on assisted suicide sought to shift the focus away from the weaknesses of their legislative offerings and onto emotive hard cases – but couldn’t resist returning to old ground.