BBC presenter Ray Gosling
refuses to talk to police over mercy killing of lover
The BBC presenter who claims he carried out the mercy killing of a lover who had Aids is refusing to talk to police.
By Martin Beckford
Published: 7:00AM GMT 17 Feb 2010
Ray Gosling, 70, confessed on television that he smothered the man with a pillow after doctors said they could not relieve his pain.
He insisted he had no regrets and claimed he had previously made a pact with the unnamed victim that he would help end his life, if his suffering became unbearable.
Mr Gosling, a veteran documentary-maker, told Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday: “Doctors are doing this every day.
“Sometimes doctors do it on their own. Sometimes people do it on their own.
“And if it happens to a lover or friend of yours, a husband, a wife, and I hope it doesn’t, but when it does sometimes you have to do brave things and you have to say - to use Nottingham language - ****** the law.”
He now faces a criminal investigation for manslaughter or murder.
But Mr Gosling claimed he would not co-operate with police, saying: “I’m not going to tell, no way, just like I won’t tell any of the secrets people told me. I wouldn’t even tell under torture, because that was the pact and what we agreed.”
“There are different kind of laws, there are laws that are written in books and there is a law in your heart and for me there was the law of the pact we had between each other.”
Nottinghamshire Police have already visited BBC East Midlands studios to speak to the makers of the Inside Out programme, broadcast on Monday evening.
A spokesman for the force said: “Nottinghamshire Police was not aware of Mr Gosling’s comments until the BBC Inside Out programme was shown.
“We are now liaising with the BBC and will investigate the matter.”
Dr Peter Saunders of Care Not Killing, which opposes relaxation of the law on assisted suicide and euthanasia, claimed the case sounded like “intentional killing or murder”.
He said: “It’s rather bizarre this was filmed more than two months ago and the BBC has been sitting on it and hasn’t informed the police and the case hasn’t been investigated.
“At the moment all we have is Ray’s word there was a pact and it wasn’t clear from his description whether his lover even wanted to be killed or asked to be.
“It’s not up to us as the viewing public, on the basis of one very brief selective testimony, to draw conclusions on what might be a very complex case.
“That’s why it’s so important all these cases be fully investigated so the true facts can come out.”
The BBC, which has been accused by MPs of “bias” in its coverage of the assisted dying debate, said it was co-operating with the police inquiry.
But a spokesman claimed it had been “under no legal obligation” to tell police about Mr Gosling’s claims while the programme was being made.
It comes just weeks before the publication of final guidelines by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, which will be seen by many as legalising assisted suicide by the back door.
Aiding or abetting another person’s death is illegal in England and Wales under the 1961 Suicide Act, and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
But the new clarification of the law is expected to set out a checklist of factors that would make prosecution less likely, such as the facts that the victim was terminally ill, had previously tried to kill themselves or that their helper was a loved one who did not stand to gain financially from their death.
Sarah Wootton, the chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “This case yet again demonstrates that this is a real and present problem, which can affect us all.
“The law is out of step with what society needs and wants.
“Crucially, Ray Gosling’s loved one was terminally ill and clearly asked for help to die when he was suffering unbearably at the end of his life.
“This illustrates a need for formal assisted dying legislation to help those who want choice at the end of life, as well as protect people who may be vulnerable to coercion.”
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