A husband who helped his wife suffocate was yesterday spared prosecution for assisting her suicide.

It was the first death in Britain in which the Director of Public Prosecution’s new rules on assisted suicide have been used to decide that there should be no criminal charges.

A senior lawyer at the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that Michael Bateman should not face charges or punishment over the death of his 62-year-old wife Margaret, who died at the couple’s home last autumn.

However, the decision provoked further protests from critics who believe that the relaxation of assisted suicide rules puts the disabled at risk and diminishes the value of human life.

Helping with a suicide is a crime punishable with a 14-year jail sentence. But the chances of being brought to trial have been transformed by DPP Keir Starmer’s guidelines published in February. Read more »...