Euthanasia
Attorney-General

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Photo of Greg Knight

Greg Knight (East Yorkshire, Conservative)

To ask the Attorney-General if he will review the appropriateness of the assisted suicide policy published by the Director of Public Prosecutions in February.

Photo of Dominic Grieve

Dominic Grieve (Attorney General; Beaconsfield, Conservative)

I do not have any plans to invite the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review his policy, issued on 25 February 2010, on prosecuting cases of encouraging or assisting suicide.

The DPP published his policy following the judgment of the House of Lords in R (on the application of Purdy) v . DPP on 30 July 2009 which required him to outline the public interest factors, both for and against prosecution, that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will take into account in considering such cases. As was outlined at the time of publication, the policy does not change the law, nor does it sanction the taking of life by another person. The policy should be read in conjunction with the Code for Crown Prosecutors which continues to apply in all cases.

The policy replaced the DPP Interim Policy, published in September 2009, and followed a period of extensive public consultation.

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