In the 16 years between April 2009 and March 2026 there were 209 cases referred by the UK police to the Crown Prosecution Service for possible prosecution on the grounds of “assisting a suicide” under the Suicide Act of 1961. That was an average of 13 per year. Many of these will have been self-referred to the police by people who had accompanied a relative to one of the VAD centres in Switzerland.
There have been ten cases in the past year, only one of which went to trial – and that resulted in an acquittal. The problem, as we have reported before on this site, is not so much the threat of prosecution but the simple time that can be created by police delays in their investigations. Fiona Shackleton, who lives near Scarborough, went with her husband to Dignitas in December 2024. He had MND. She reported what she had done to the police who then took 10 months to investigate before telling her that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided no prosecution should be brought. Sean Davison was arrested in Poole in July 2024 and has remained “under investigation” ever since. His computer, PC and phone were seized and have not been returned. Sue Lawford was arrested at 5 am and held for 19 hours. Six months later her charges were dropped.
The CPS guidance on whether or not to bring a prosecution stipulates that people who believe they may have committed such an offence should report themselves to their local police station. This begs two further questions. First, if someone simply accompanies a relative to Switzerland but does not make the arrangements, does not help with the paperwork and does not receive any benefit, then has any offence actually been committed ? Second, if there have only been ten referrals in the past year (and several of those may not have involved a visit to Switzerland) then what happened to all the others ? Dignitas has reported that 43 British people received a VAD from them last year. A rather higher number is believed to have visited either Pegasos or Athanasios.
Whatever the questions, this whole area of the law in the UK is one of uncertainty, doubt, confusion and anxiety at the very time when families most need simple and definitive answers.
