The assisted dying bill has been defended by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall who said it was about the “right to choose”.

She refused to criticise colleagues who are against the Bill, including Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who wrote to her constituents this weekend saying the proposed changes would create a “slippery slope to death on demand”.

Kendall told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg she believed the bill would give people “power, choice and control” over their own deaths.

The bill, which would allow some terminally-ill people to have a medically-assisted death, is to be debated by MPs on Friday.

Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown told BBC Radio 4 he wanted to see more debate on the issue, saying “life is a gift” and he urged MPs to vote against the bill.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Kendall said: “I think you should have the right to choose.

“The point is not that this is for everybody.”

Kendall, who is a long-time advocate of assisted dying, called the debate on the bill part of a “bigger” national discussion as more people “have longer deaths”.

Her comments came as 29 faith leaders representing Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs signed an open letter in The Telegraph warning the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, would lead to people being pressured into ending their lives to avoid burdening families or the NHS.

MPs will get a free vote on Friday on the bill – introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater – meaning they can follow their conscience rather than party orders.