Dame Esther Rantzen said she is “deeply disappointed” after the Health Secretary said he will vote against a bid to legalise assisted dying, as another Cabinet minister revealed she will support the Bill.

Wes Streeting is understood to have made his decision amid fears around coercion and people feeling a “duty to die”.

But his Government colleague, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has confirmed she will vote for Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on November 29.

She said she is conscious of the concerns Mr Streeting and others have and that there must be safeguards within any new law.

She told BBC Breakfast: “I’ve just seen too many examples of people who have no choices and no dignity at the end of their lives.

“And I think the current system is unstainable.”

Mr Streeting had spoken recently about his concern that palliative care is not good enough “to give people a real choice”.

Ms Nandy added: “I very much agree with Wes that we need to improve palliative care in this country.

“But I want people to have the choice about how they’re treated at the end of their life.”

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has previously stated she will oppose the Bill, telling the Times: “As a Muslim, I have an unshakeable belief in the sanctity and value of human life.”

The Government is officially neutral on the Bill and MPs will have a free vote according to their conscience rather than along party lines.

Earlier this month, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case wrote to ministers to say that, while they “need not resile from previously stated views when directly asked about them, they should exercise discretion and should not take part in the public debate”.

Dame Esther, who is terminally ill and has been outspoken in support of change, said she felt “distressed” and “deeply disappointed” by news of Mr Streeting’s decision.

He is reported to have given his view when asked about assisted dying at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party this week.

Dame Esther accused him of “ignoring the Government’s request to stay neutral”.

Writing in the Express newspaper, she said: “As Health Secretary you must know, or at least you should, that even the best palliative care cannot always protect patients from dying in agony, and their families and doctors watching helplessly.”

She asked if he was “really comfortable with the current law that imposes this terrible memory?” and said the current situation could “force me to fly to Dignitas in Zurich to die alone”.

She added: “What kind of health minister are you if you have no respect or understanding for the views of terminally ill patients?”

While Dame Esther is one of the best-known faces in support of the Bill, high-profile figures such as the Archbishop of Canterbury have spoken out against a change in the law.

Justin Welby has warned of a “slippery slope”, and other opponents said they feared for the elderly and disabled people who could be especially vulnerable if the law is changed.

Ms Leadbeater has previously rejected the slippery slope argument, saying her legislation will have “very clear criteria, safeguards and protections”.

She has also said there is “absolutely no question of disabled people or those with mental illness who are not terminally ill being pressured to end their lives” and argued that any new law would not come into effect as an alternative to good palliative care.