Prue Leith has spoken out in favour of assisted dying, describing the deaths of her first husband and brother as 'horrible' and 'utter agony'. The broadcaster and former Great British Bake Off judge said she would like to have a 'little lethal concoction' available for when she decides her time is right.
Leith, now 84, recalled the distressing final days of her first husband, who had emphysema. She described episodes where he would struggle to breathe and doctors would rush him to a defibrillator, only for him to recover the next day. 'I thought, how many times will we have to go through this?' she said.
Her brother David died of terminal bone cancer, enduring three weeks of 'utter agony' when he should have been able to say goodbye to family. Leith criticised the reluctance of medical staff to provide adequate pain relief, citing the legacy of Harold Shipman. 'Why can't we pass a law that makes it much more open, transparent?' she asked.
Leith dismissed the 'slippery slope' argument against assisted dying, pointing to Oregon, where the practice has been legal for 26 years without evidence of coercion. She acknowledged that any law would need to start narrowly, perhaps limited to those with a prognosis of less than a year to live.
She expressed hope that the mood has changed among politicians and medics, noting that an ageing population makes the issue urgent. 'While I am healthy at the moment, I'd very much like to have a little lethal concoction sitting in a safe waiting for the right moment,' she said.
