Sir Keir Starmer has insisted MPs will be allowed vote their conscience if ‘assisted dying’ legislation comes before Parliament, but such a bill is not high on the agenda.

The prime minister said he would provide parliamentary time for a vote if a backbench MPs proposed changing the law, but stressed the government had other “priorities for the first year or so”.

Sir Keir supported a change in the law the last time the issue was voted on in the Commons nine years ago.

Speaking on a trip to the NATO summit in the US, the new prime minister indicated his support for taking up a bill eventually:

“That remains my position for the reasons I’ve set out, having probably got more experience on this than most people, having personally looked at tens of cases in my time as director of public prosecutions.”