Even at the notorious Swiss assisted suicide clinic Dignitas, there are rules. One of them is that relatives should be informed of an impending suicide. A wealthy British widow, 74-year-old Kathleen Dobson, broke the rule in 2008 and may have broken up her family in the process.

Mrs Dobson had three sons from her first marriage, Richard, Robert and Graham Carlton. She appears to have known that Robert strongly opposed her plans to take her life even though she was not terminally ill. So she lied to Dignitas, telling the group that all of her relatives had been informed. Then she travelled from her home on the island of Guernsey to Zurich with Richard and his wife Nicola and Graham and killed herself – but not before making Richard the principal beneficiary of her will.

“If I had been aware of what was going on I would have flown to Guernsey and put a stop to it,” Robert told the Sunday Express newspaper. “She was not terminally ill and the last time I spoke to her – on Sunday August 31, 2008 – she sounded in good spirits. She gave no inkling to me she was about to take her life and did not mention that my name was being used to validate the documents for Dignitas. In my view Dignitas have behaved appallingly and their actions and the actions of others needs to be fully investigated.” The police are currently investigating the case. ~ Sunday Express, Apr 11