The MSP championing the proposed assisted dying bill in Scotland has offered to meet with Nicola Sturgeon after the former first minister said she might vote against the legislation.

Liam McArthur said he hoped for the chance to sit down with Ms Sturgeon and other MSPs who are "not convinced" to back the bill and "allay their concerns".

The Liberal Democrat's bill is the third attempt to legalise assisted dying in Scotland with Mr McArthur saying the public mood has now shifted in favour of the legal change.

Ms Sturgeon, in her column in The Herald's stablemate the Glasgow Times, said she felt herself "swaying against" voting in support of the bill.

Liam McArthur said: "I appreciate the issues that Nicola Sturgeon raises and I hope that I will have a chance to meet with her and other MSPs who are not yet convinced to back my bill in a bid to allay their concerns.

"The recent UK Parliament inquiry into assisted dying noted that there was no evidence of palliative and end-of-life care deteriorating in quality or provision following the introduction of assisted dying in jurisdictions around the world. Indeed, in many instances improvements have gone hand in hand.

Nicola Sturgeon makes intervention in debate around assisted dying

I watched my grandmother die yet I still feel conflicted on the issue of assisted death

"Our current laws on assisted dying are failing too many terminally ill Scots and despite the best efforts of palliative care, dying people too often face traumatic deaths that harm both them and those they leave behind."

In her column today, Ms Sturgeon said she was deeply conflicted on the matter, having voted against legalising assisted dying on previous occasions.

Humza Yousaf, the First Minister, and Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, have both said in recent weeks they are against the passing of assisted dying legislation, as has Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader.

The matter will be a free vote - a matter of conscience - when it comes before parliament.

The bill would allow terminally ill adults aged over 16 to receive assistance to die if ruled mentally fit to make the decision by two doctors.

Ms Sturgeon said: "I have rarely been as conflicted on any issue as I am on this.

"On previous occasions when the matter has come before Parliament, I have voted against.

"I have been determined, this time, to consider the issue afresh, and to consider all the different arguments with an open mind. Liam is to be commended for the thorough and sensitive way in which he is giving Parliament the opportunity to do so.

"I had expected this time, if I am being frank, to find myself swaying in favour of the legislation.

"I believe that we all deserve as much agency as possible over our own lives and, in theory at least, I understand the argument that this must entail, in some circumstances, the right to decide when to end our lives."

The SNP MSP said she has concerns that the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill may have the unintended consequence of putting pressure on those at the end of their life to choose assisted dying.

Ms Sturgeon goes on to urge constituents with strong views on the matter to contact her.

Mr McArthur added: "I would encourage my MSP colleagues to consider carefully the detail of this bill and the safeguards that it puts in place.

"In turn, I hope this leads them to back my proposals to give terminally ill adults the choice they need and one that an overwhelming majority of Scots support."