Brown against assisted suicide

Gordon Brown has re-iterated his opposition to any change in the law on assisted suicide. The Prime Minister warned that if it were ever allowed in Britain, some elderly people might find themselves under pressure to agree to kill themselves rather than become a burden on their families.

Brown made his remarks in an interview with Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, head of the Catholic church in England and Wales, who was guest editing BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The PM's comments follow renewed media interest in assisted suicide. It is illegal to aid and abet a suicide in Britain and anyone convicted faces up to 14 years in prison. But more than 100 British people are known to have taken advantage of the system in Switzerland, where it is legal.

NOTE TO READERS: The First Post's daily Opinion Digest service will resume on Monday, January 5.