Written question asked by Caroline Lucas (Green Party) on Tuesday, 26 October 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 28 October 2010. It was answered by Dominic Grieve (Conservative) on Monday, 1 November 2010 on behalf of the Attorney General.

Euthanasia: Switzerland

Question: To ask the Attorney-General what reports he has received on the number of UK residents who have been assisted to die in Switzerland since the publication of the Director of Public Prosecutions' interim policy on the prosecution of offences assisted suicide; and how many of such cases have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for investigation.

Answer: I have not received any direct reports on the number of UK residents who have been assisted to die in Switzerland since the interim policy for prosecutors in respect of cases of assisted suicide was issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on 23 September 2009.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has advised that their central records indicate that four cases involving UK residents who have been assisted to die in Switzerland have been referred to the CPS since September 2009. This number includes both those cases that are ongoing and in which decisions on prosecution have been taken.Following a public consultation exercise, the DPP amended the interim policy and published a revised version on 25 February 2010.

Secondary information