As we continue to crunch the numbers here at Sky News on the historic vote in parliament backing assisted dying, we noticed a peculiar thing – one MP voted both for and against the bill.

Emma Hardy, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice, was the member concerned, and as she has voted twice, the votes cancel each other out.

It is not the usual way of abstaining, and Commons Speakers have disapproved of the practice going back decades, but it continues to be used by some.

Ms Hardy has explained why she voted this way in a post on social media, saying it is a “deeply personal issue for me, one that I have struggled with”.

“It strikes at the heart of my fundamental desire to both ease suffering and protect the most vulnerable in society, goals that, at times, seem to conflict in these discussions,” she said.

She went on to say that she believes “everyone deserves dignity in dying”, and has “the right to a good death”.

But there are inconsistencies in the law in that area, and she does not believe the bill “fully addresses the complex realities of a legal right to assisted dying”.

Ms Hardy, who also serves as a government minister, went on to say that existing health inequalities is one of her “biggest concerns”, along with it becoming the only option for some people, that some may feel pressured by doctors, as well as the process of approving someone’s request for an assisted death.

Explaining her final decision, she wrote: “While these concerns have made me lean towards voting against the bill, I have chosen to abstain.

“My reason for this is simple: voting against it at this stage could close down the debate for another decade.

“To record my active abstention, I had to vote both for and against this bill, which is why my name will appear on both lists.”