BBC presenter quiet over mercy killing

Police have questioned a veteran British broadcaster for a second day over his admission that he smothered a terminally-ill ex-lover, but his lawyer says he has yet to reveal the victim's name.

Ray Gosling, 70, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Wednesday after admitting that he had killed the man as he lay seriously ill in hospital "in the early period of AIDS" - likely to be during the 1980s.

Gosling's confession during a television program on Monday night has highlighted an intense debate about assisted suicide, ahead of the publication of new government guidelines next week.

Police in Nottinghamshire, central England, say they have been granted a further 12 hours to question Gosling but his lawyer, Digby Johnson, says he has yet to reveal the name of his ex-lover, who had AIDS.

"When Ray made the disclosure on television, no person was named," he said.

"I think it is fair to say that as far as Ray and I are aware, that's still the case. As far as I am aware, there isn't a name for the victim.

"I have spoken to Ray briefly and he is all right, but the longer he is in there, the harder it gets."

In the program, Gosling told of how he had taken his lover's life after they agreed a on pact.

"In a hospital one hot afternoon, the doctor said, 'There's nothing we can do', and he was in terrible, terrible pain," he told viewers.

"I said to the doctor, 'Leave me just for a bit' and he went away.

"I picked up the pillow and smothered him until he was dead."

Britain is engaged in a fierce debate about so-called mercy killings and whether people with terminal illnesses should be allowed to be helped to die - something that remains illegal but is rarely prosecuted.

New, fuller guidelines on prosecutions in such cases are due to be published next Thursday.