Cabinet minister Liz Kendall says she will vote for assisted dying

Liz Kendall said she believed the bill was ‘a really important step forward’. Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

Liz Kendall has become the first cabinet minister to confirm she will vote for the assisted dying bill since it was published, as the row intensified over the proposed law change.

Some supporters of assisted dying have expressed anger after Wes Streeting, the health secretary and an opponent of the plan, warned it could be a potential drain on NHS resources.