Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Kate Beckinsale backs decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland

Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale has backed decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland (Ian West/PA)
Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale has backed decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland (Ian West/PA)

Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale has given her support to the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland.

She was among more than 60 female celebrities to write an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May.

Northern Ireland has some of the tightest restrictions on the procedure and the issue is due to be raised in Parliament on Friday as part of a campaign for change.

The letter supported by stars from the worlds of acting, television and fashion was also signed by Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker and Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman.

It said: “This Friday, women across the UK will be waiting with anxiety and fear as their reproductive rights are debated in Parliament. We’re counting on you (Theresa May) and your government to stand with women and decriminalise abortion.

“Give us choice and control over our own bodies. Show women from Northern Ireland that you won’t stand for them being governed by one of the harshest and cruellest abortion laws in the world.

“Show us that you value and champion the rights of all women, no matter which part of the UK they’re from.”

A termination is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman’s life is at risk or if there is a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health.

The 1967 Abortion Act which governs the rest of the UK was not extended to Northern Ireland.

A Private Members’ Bill which would decriminalise terminations in the region is due to be debated at Westminster on Friday.

Among others who signed the open letter are Dame Emma Thompson, Claire Foy, who played the Queen in the Netflix hit drama The Crown and her successor in the role, Olivia Colman.

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood also joined a call for reform supported by Amnesty International.

Almost 50,000 others have signed a petition calling for the decriminalisation of abortion.

Northern Ireland’s biggest political party, the DUP, which holds strong Christian values, supports restrictions on terminations and has prevented change in the past.

Labour MP Diana Johnson, who has brought forward the decriminalisation Bill, said: “The situation in Northern Ireland is grave and urgent.

“My decriminalisation Bill has support from almost every UK political party and will be in Parliament on Friday. The Government must give it the time it needs to progress.

“Women need this change. Abortion is a healthcare and human rights issue. It’s time it was treated as such.”

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UK’s Northern Ireland campaign manager, said: “Women in Northern Ireland are being failed by a lack of Government action, forced to live with the cruel reality of Northern Ireland’s strict near total abortion ban every day.

“The UK Government must give time for the Bill to go through Parliament so that MPs have the opportunity to stop the criminalisation of healthcare services and support the rights of women – including those in Northern Ireland.”