Catholic priests’ right to give the last rites to the dying, including at crime scenes, should be enshrined in forthcoming legislation in the wake of the killing of David Amess, an MP has said.

Labour’s Mike Kane has proposed the “Amess amendment” to the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill, which is being scrutinised in parliament and the House of Lords.

It comes after a Roman Catholic priest tried to offer the last rites – the final prayers and ministrations given to an individual of faith shortly before death – to Amess after he was stabbed last Friday but was not permitted to enter the crime scene. A 25-year-old man, Ali Harbi Ali, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and then further detained under the Terrorism Act.