Inquiry plea over father's death at a 'suicide clinic'

A father of three suffering from Parkinson's disease posted farewell notes to his family, then flew to a " suicide clinic" in Switzerland. Twenty-four hours later he was dead.

The daughter-in-law of the man, former Ministry of Defence clerk Gordon Hurst, today called for an inquiry after the death prompted new outrage over "assisted suicide".

Mr Hurst, who was 76, paid a registration fee of £43 and an annual charge of little more than £20 to arrange his own death. Leslie Miller, 44, who was married to Mr Hurst's late son, Trevor, said she was horrified to learn the details of her father-in-law's death at the Zurich clinic and called on police to investigate.

Mrs Miller, 44, of Letchworth, Hertfordshire, said: "What has happened is horrific - it has got to be wrong."

Mrs Miller urged the Government to put pressure on the Swiss to close down Dignitas, the clinic where Mr Hurst ended his life, or to introduce strict rules over the length of time people spent in the country before being allowed to end their lives. Mr Hurst had sent out specially prepared cards and farewell notes from his nursing home in Hitchin before leaving for Switzerland.

One, sent to his 17-year-old grandson Christopher, Mrs Miller's son, congratulated the teenager on his plans to join the Army and told of his joy at the prospect of being reunited with his wife, who died three years ago.

Dignitas is one of a number of such clinics and says it is non-profit-making. Members opting for suicide have to provide medical records which are passed to a Swiss doctor, who prescribes the drugs - usually barbiturates.

"Assisted suicides" are illegal in Britain, but Swiss law is less clear.

Hertfordshire police said they had investigated Mrs Miller's complaint but found no evidence of an offence being committed under British law.