Family's 'relief' not to face prison over dad's Dignitas death

Sandra Holmes said her father expressed his desire to travel to Switzerland several months before his death

A daughter who took her 93-year-old father to die at a Dignitas facility in Switzerland said she is "relieved" she will not face going to prison.

Sandra Holmes, 66, from Llanrwst, Conwy, and her son Scott, took John Lenton to die last October.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now said no-one will be charged as it is "not in the public interest".

Ms Holmes, who said she was prepared to go to prison to help her father die, said: "We're very relieved".

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal, with those against changing the law saying they expose vulnerable people to pressure to end their lives and give too much power to doctors.

North Wales Police referred the World War Two veteran's death to the CPS, but on Thursday it said it was not pursuing any charges against the family.

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Ms Holmes said her father asked her in the spring to accompany him to die abroad, and she did not regret her actions.

She said she did not coerce Mr Lenton in any way, who had Parkinson's, and several times gave him options to change his mind, even booking a return ticket for him from Switzerland.

After hearing no charges would be pursued, Ms Holmes said: "All three of us are delighted.

"As a family we're very relieved that the decision's been made. It's what we expected but it's nice to draw a line under it."

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She said she would continue to fight for a change in the law to allow assisted suicide in cases like her father's.

"I have lost count of the number of people - many of them strangers - who have told me they've just discovered that their parents have similar wishes to those of my father," she said.

"This is something people need to be able to talk about."

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A CPS spokesman said: "We considered the circumstances of the case in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and taking account of the relevant CPS legal guidance.

"We concluded a prosecution is not in the public interest and therefore no charges have been authorised."