Oxfordshire's Prue Leith has called for the UK government to legalise assisted dying in an open letter.

The Great British Bake Off judge is inviting members of the public to add their names to her letter to Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey calling for a national debate on the topic in the next Parliament.

The letter describes how “some people’s suffering is beyond the reach of even the best palliative care” and highlights data from the Office of Health Economics estimating that 17 people a day will suffer as they die.

READ MORE: Oxford professor fears 'noisy parties' if student accommodation approved

It also points to other countries and parts of the British Isles that are debating the introduction of safe and legal options for assisted dying including Scotland, Ireland, France, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Dame Prue is a long-standing campaigner on assisted dying, most recently exploring the issue in the Channel 4 documentary Prue and Danny’s Death Road Trip, which aired this February.

She has spoken about how she was motivated to join the campaign after witnessing her brother David die an agonising death from bone cancer in 2012.

Dame Prue, patron of Dignity in Dying, said: “When our documentary aired, hundreds of people from all walks of life wrote to me to share personal and often quite harrowing stories about how the current law has impacted them and their families. In these divided times, it’s rare for an issue to unite so many across age groups, backgrounds and political views.

“It’s important that MPs grasp this and understand that assisted dying is neither a party-political issue, nor a controversial one for the vast majority of their constituents.

"Across the UK, people have seen first-hand the many ways that the current law fails our dying citizens, just as I saw how it failed my late brother. Only Westminster can put this right.”

The open letter can be read in full at www.dignityindying.org.uk/prue.

Dame Prue will also invite MPs and peers to sign the letter at the Houses of Parliament today (May 23).

ALSO READ: Traditional pub - left 'butchered' by previous owner - refurbished and reopened

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying said: “The current law is not regulated, it’s not safe and it’s not fair.

"The public know this and urgently want change, yet successive governments have failed to prioritise the issue, nor allowed a free and fair debate.

“Assisted dying is a movement whose time has come. Nowhere is the personal more political than in matters of life and death.

"The next election needs to count for dying Britons and party leaders should prioritise a debate on assisted dying.”

Assisted dying is banned across the British Isles. It is currently a crime in England and Wales under the Suicide Act 1961, which states that a person found guilty of “assisting or encouraging a suicide” can face a sentence of up to 14 years.