Tributes paid to right-to-die crusader

Tributes have been paid to right-to-die campaigner Debbie Purdy, who has died after suffering from primary progressive multiple sclerosis for almost 20 years.

The 51-year-old, from Bradford, has been described as a “much loved wife, sister, aunt, and friend”.

She had campaigned for a change in the law regarding assisted suicide. In 2009 she won a landmark ruling in the House of Lords resulting in new guidelines being published by the Government.

Keir Starmer, the then DPP, said the change meant the motives of those assisting suicide would be at the centre of the decision over whether they should be prosecuted.

Purdy died in the Marie Curie Hospice in her home city, where she had been staying for a year, on December 23.

Campaign group Dignity in Dying expressed sadness over her death, describing her as a “valued campaigner and friend”.

Chief executive Sarah Wootton said: “Debbie wanted choice and control over her death should she consider her suffering unbearable.”

It said her victory meant the law was changed so a loved one acting wholly on compassionate grounds and in an amateur capacity is unlikely to be prosecuted for helping a person with a clear and settled intention to die.