A County Durham MP expressed fear for people "who aren’t loved and cared for" when speaking against a bill that would legalise assisted dying before it went through the House of Commons today.

City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy told the moving story of her daughter Maria during debate of the The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill today (November 29) - expressing "dread and fear" at the prospect of it being made into law.

Maria, who was born in 1989, lived with cerebral palsy, was non verbal and was cared for by family before she died aged just 27.

Speaking of her daughter in a moving speech, Ms Foy voted against the bill and expressed concern about people like her daughter who may not have "somebody speaking out for them".

Ms Foy was one of 16 North East MPs who voted against The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill today (November 29) which was introduced by Kim Leadbeater, MP for Spen Valley.

A majority of MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, supported the Bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.

Overall, 330 MPs voted for the bill and 275 against, meaning it will move to the committee stage.

Another 42 MPs, including speakers of the house, did not record a vote.

Speaking against the bill, Ms Foy said: "My daughter Maria lived her life with severe disabilities and health conditions, and since her birth she and we were told many times that she might have only six months to live. She lived for 27 years.

"Crucially, Maria was non-verbal and I am filled with dread and fear for those other people like Maria who are non-verbal and don’t have that capacity, and what might happen to others like Maria if they aren’t loved and cared for and have somebody speaking out for them."

In the North East, MPs were divided - with 12 expressing favour towards the bill including Rishi Sunak, Luke Akehurst and Anna Turley  but were outnumbered by 16 against including Darlington's MP Lola McEvoy.

In a statement on Facebook following the vote, she wrote that she has "serious concerns" about the plans.

She said: "After a huge amount of consideration, I ultimately voted against the Bill at this stage. While I support the intentions and my instinct is to allow people freedom of choice when facing the prospect of a painful and harrowing death, I have serious concerns about the plans for implementation that I just could not overlook."

'This is not a decision I take lightly'

Elsewhere in the region, Bishop Auckland MP Sam Rushworth also voted against the bill - acknowledging in an open letter the range of views he has heard on the topic.

He said: "It is never the role of parliament to legislate on whether a person’s choice is “right” or “wrong” in any religious or moral sense. Such decisions belong only to the individual.

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"However, it is the responsibility of parliament to defend the common good and particularly to protect the vulnerable, and sometimes that must come at the expense of individual freedom."

Now, the bill will next go to committee stage where MPs can table amendments, and on Friday a motion was approved to allow the committee considering the Bill to have the power to send for people, papers and records as part of its sessions.

The Bill will face further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.