DPP is forced to rule on assisting suicide; MS sufferer wins appeal.

Byline: MIKE TAYLOR

MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy won a famous victory yesterday in her legal battle to be told what would happen to her husband if he helped her travel abroad to end her life.

The 46-year-old was at the House of Lords to hear five of the UK's top judges deliver a landmark ruling.

The Law Lords unanimously backed her call for a policy statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the circumstances in which a person such as her husband, Cuban violinist Omar Puente, might face prosecution for helping a loved one end their life abroad.

Wheelchair-bound Ms Purdy, who left the House of Lords to the cheers of her supporters, said the decision "gives me my life back".

With her husband next to her, she said: "We can now live our lives. We don't have to plan my death."

The Law Lords agreed that changes to the law were a matter for Parliament, but upheld Ms Purdy's argument that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer QC, should put in writing the factors that he regarded as relevant in deciding whether or not to prosecute. Ms Purdy, from Bradford, said: "I'm ecstatic. I am eagerly awaiting the DPP's policy publication so that we can make an informed decision to make sure what we do does not risk prosecution."

The judgment will bring reassurance to thousands of people faced with the same dilemma.

It was welcomed by the charity Dignity in Dying as ensuring that the law "kept up with changes in society".

But Phyllis Bowman, executive officer of Right To Life, claimed the Law Lords had effectively ruled it was lawful for somebody to help a person commit suicide abroad, but not at home.

CAPTION(S):

Ms Purdy and Mr Puente