The state of Victoria introduced voluntary assisted dying laws in 2019, which allow a person in the late stages of advanced disease to end their life using medication, with the approval of two doctors.

For almost two decades, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur has been quietly focussed on addressing local concerns on the islands he represents rather than seeking a national profile. But now he has been placed firmly in the spotlight by his stewardship of the assisted dying bill, which this week passed its first hurdle in the Scottish Parliament.

The assisted dying Bill is at risk of failing because MPs are considering pulling their support, The Telegraph can disclose.