Record numbers of Britons are now members of Dignitas, in a trend campaigners described as “concrete evidence” that people are crying out for greater choice at the end of life. The UK accounted for 331 new registrations with the Swiss assisted suicide clinic last year — more than any other nation. A total of 2,231 Brits were members at the end of 2024, up by more than half from 1,430 five years ago.

The figures come as MPs are considering amendments to a landmark bill seeking to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales for terminally ill adults. Sarah Wootton, chief executive of campaign group Dignity in Dying, said: “The increase in Dignitas figures in recent years is concrete evidence that dying Britons are calling out for choice at the end of their lives.

“Without the option of assisted dying in their home country, terminally ill people are having to scrape together the £15,000 this now costs to have an assisted death overseas.

“They face the cruel choice of leaving their home and loved ones behind or putting them at risk of prosecution for accompanying them.”

People who accompany loved ones to Dignitas may face questioning by police when they return, although no one has ever been prosecuted in such a case.

Founded in 1998, Dignitas helps people who are terminally ill or living with severe physical or mental illnesses to die with medical assistance.

Its eligibility criteria is wider than that proposed in Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Bill, which would only legalise it for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live.

People who are not resident in Switzerland are also allowed to register with the clinic. The UK accounts for the second highest number of members, behind only Germany (4,790). It is followed by the US (1,994), Switzerland (921) and Italy (729).

Some 37 Britons travelled to Dignitas to end their lives last year, down slightly from 40 the previous year. A total of 608 UK residents are now known to have died there.

Ms Wootton warned that terminally ill people who could not afford to make the trip were being left to “suffer as they die, despite good care, or to take matters into their own hands, often dying violent and lonely deaths”.

She added: “We can and must do better for dying people in this country. We need a clear and compassionate law for this country, and we are closer than ever before to having one.

“The Isle of Man is the first British Isles jurisdiction to change the law and there will soon be key votes on bills in Westminster and Holyrood.“

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is due to face its next Commons debate on May 16, which will be followed by a third reading vote.

The historic legislation has faced intense opposition in recent weeks but campaigners remain quietly optimistic that enough MPs will remain convinced of the case for change to back the bill once more.

Ms Wootton added: “Parliamentarians are increasingly recognising that the blanket ban on assisted dying is unequal and fails to protect any of us, catching up to the three-quarters of the British public who want to see the law changed.

“When MPs come to hold this historic vote on Kim’s Bill in the coming weeks, they must remember the dying people who are depending on them to vote for change.”

Ms Leadbeater has delayed the next debate on her Bill until next month to allow more time for MPs to consider key amendments that have been made since it passed a landmark Commons vote in November. These include swapping the High Court review for an expert panel including

The Spen Valley MP said this week: “I believe the amendments in committee have significantly strengthened what was already the most robust assisted dying legislation in the world, but I appreciate that some of those changes are significant and colleagues will want time to study them.”

The Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade supports efforts to legalise assisted dying for those nearing the end of life.

However, some organisations campaign for a broader law which would extend eligibility to people who are “incurable suffering”, whether or not they are terminally ill.

Richy Thompson, director of public affairs and policy at Humanists UK, said: “The surge in UK-based Dignitas membership reflects a growing number of people who feel the current law does not meet their needs at the end of life.

“These are individuals who are suffering and making deeply personal decisions in the absence of a legal, safeguarded option at home.

“Sadly, with the delay to the latest possible implementation of England and Wales’ bill, more people look set to join them.

“The law must change. We need a safe, legal, and compassionate assisted dying system in the UK as soon as is safely possible, so no one has to make that journey ever again.”

Graham Winyard, director of My Death, My Decision, said the UK’s current ban on assisted dying was “cruel, outdated and unsustainable”.

He added: “Every year, more people are joining Dignitas because our politicians are refusing to act. These aren’t just numbers, they’re real people, many of them terminally ill, who want control over how and when they die.

“It’s time Parliament listened to the overwhelming public support for change and gave people the right to die with dignity, here at home.”

‘My wife knew things were only going to get worse.’

Dave Sowry accompanied his wife Christy Barry to Dignitas in September 2022. She had lived with multiple sclerosis for almost 30 years but could no longer bear the impact of her illness.

Academic researcher Christy had been forced to give up the job she loved as the disease robbed her of her ability to work.

Dave, 68, said: “Christy did remarkably well at adjusting to not being able to do so many of the things she loved doing: hill walking, art, cycling, swimming, and took pleasure in the things she could still do: theatre, music, art exhibitions and of course friends.

“But she was slowly and steadily losing her independence. It was like she was in a never-ending corridor that was getting narrower and narrower, with fewer and fewer windows and no doors out.

“Life was closing in with no future other than the knowledge that however bad things were, they were only going to get worse.”

Epilepsy linked to the MS worsened Christy’s symptoms. Dave remembers his wife telling him: “I would rather be dead than lose total control.”

Christy applied to join Dignitas in February 2022 and wrote in her diary that she felt “an enormous sense of relief at the possibility of assisted dying”. She died aged 62.

Dave, of west London, reported Christy’s death to the police after returning home and was questioned for four hours. He added: “Going to Dignitas wasn’t an easy option for my wife. Sadly it was the only option. The additional stress and worry caused by the current legal situation was traumatising for her.

“Christy was terrified right up until the end that she would have her decision thwarted by the UK laws and she felt unable to tell anyone other than a few people really close to her.

“It’s cruel to impose this additional burden on anyone at the most difficult time of their life. We must change the law.” Dave now campaigns with the organisation My Death, My Decision.