The 26 bishops should "be on the side of those who … want a dignified, compassionate end to their lives", Lord Carey told the Guardian.

Carey, who retired as leader of the C of E in 2002 and still sits in the Lords, said he would back Kim Leadbeater's bill to legalise assisted dying "because it is necessary, compassionate and principled".

He said it was "ironic that I will represent the vast majority of Anglicans who favour change, and the bishops in the House of Lords will not."

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An initial version of Bishop Rachel Treweek's writ of summons to be read aloud to the House of Lords referred to her as "right reverend father in God".

Bishop Treweek, from Gloucester, sent this back and now a revised version refers to her as "bishop".

"There may be women who'd be happy with ‘right reverend mother in God', but that doesn't sit comfortably with me," she said.

"There's something about the whole connotation of ‘mother' that has a sense of dependency for me.

"It's not how I want to be looked at. I see myself as a leader, as leading from among people."

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The assisted dying bill, proposed by the former Lord Chancellor, Charles Falconer, would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose to mentally competent patients who have less than six months to live.

But the Lords were deeply split over the bill with 65 peers speaking for it and 62 against in more than 10 hours of emotionally fraught debate on July 18.

There was no consensus among the professions, with doctors, senior lawyers, police chiefs, politicians and clergy speaking on each side.

Among those who spoke against the bill was Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, who suffers from severe spinal muscular atrophy and who spoke through a ventilator.

She said legalising assisted suicide would endanger the vulnerable and might indeed tempt her to use it in "periods of greatest difficulty".

The bill now goes forward to a committee of the whole of Parliament for scrutiny.

Lord Faulks, responding for the UK Government, said it would not block the bill if Parliament supported it, but did not rule out making amendments.

According to The Guardian, the bill is unlikely to become law because of a lack of time.

A BBC report states it is unlikely to be debated in the House of Commons, unless it gets Government backing.

Before the Lords' debate, leaders of Britain's faith communities united to warn Parliament against the "grave error" of legalising assisted suicide.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury joined 21 other of the most senior Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Jain faith leaders to protest the bill.

They stated that the bill "invites the prospect of an erosion of carefully tuned values and practices that are essential for the future development of a society that respects and cares for all".

Three senior Anglicans - Lord Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Bishop Alan Wilson - had previously said they supported assisted suicide.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have encouraged the laity to write to politicians to ask them to oppose the bill.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• The Guardian
• The Telegraph
• BBC
• Image: ITV

Mr Cameron argued that people who are terminally ill will feel unfairly pressurised into ending their lives.

Mr Cameron has opposed assisted dying before, but he was speaking out because a private members' bill drawn up by Lord (Charles) Falconer of Thoroton is due to be debated in the House of Lords in coming weeks.

The bill would allow terminally ill patients to end their lives if two doctors confirm they are unlikely to live more than six months.

It is modelled on the assisted suicide law in Oregon in the United States.

Mr Cameron said that any vote in the House of Commons would be a free vote.

He voiced concerns over patients coming under pressure, but said the House of Lords is doing useful work by debating this and bringing out some of the arguments.

Lord Falconer told The Tablet: "My bill contains safeguards to prevent people being pressured. It is better than current law where any investigation on pressure only takes place after death."

But opponents to the move - including Lord Carlile of Berriew and Baroness Butler-Sloss - say the safeguards are inadequate.

Assisted suicide, opposed by the Church, is legal in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Several previous attempts to legislate on the issue in the UK have failed.

Assisted suicide remains a criminal offence in England and Wales, technically punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Guidelines issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2010 indicated that anyone acting with compassion on the will of a dying person was unlikely to face criminal charges.

Since then, around 90 such cases have been examined and no one prosecuted.

But supporters of assisted suicide say a formal legislative change is long overdue to clarify the law and reduce unnecessary suffering.

Observers estimate that just over a third of MPs would back a change in the law, a smaller group is strongly opposed, and up to 40 per cent are undecided.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Daily Mail
• The Telegraph
• Image: The Mirror