A vote over whether to give terminally ill people the right to die divided Hounslow's MPs.

The assisted dying bill suffered a heavy defeat in a free vote in the Commons on Friday (September 11), with 330 MPs voting against and just 118 in favour.

Brentford & Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury said she had voted for a second reading, but her Labour colleague Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham & Heston, opposed the bill.

Ms Cadbury said she felt people should be given the choice about how to end their lives.

Writing on her website ahead of the vote, she said: "I know many MPs on all sides have taken great time in deciding how to vote on this Bill. It is a very personal and emotive issue.

"For me it comes down to giving people the right to choose. We finally have the chance to give terminally ill people control over their deaths. I will be voting in support of the Assisted Dying Bill today, I hope my fellow MPs will join me."

Ms Malhotra said hundreds of constituents had written to her about the issue, with opinion almost evenly divided.

She said she had decided to vote against the bill because she felt it could make people vulnerable to coercion or pressure to end their lives because they "feel they are a burden". She also said she feared it would change the relationship between patients and their doctors.

"For me the safeguards were not strong enough and for anyone who is interested in this issue, I would recommend reading the debate in Hansard," she said.

"This was a free vote and the debate in different forms will continue. There are clear issues that still need addressing to clarify the law and address suffering through stronger palliative care services to ensure compassion and support for the dying but this is not the route I would wish our society to go down."