London, : A leading anti-euthanasia group has criticised the BBC’s decision to give sympathetic coverage to Ray Gosling, a BBC presenter who claims to have killed his terminally-ill ex-lover.

Mr Gosling claimed that his victim, whom he said had AIDS, was in "terrible, terrible pain". Anthony Ozimic of SPUC Pro-Life, which was represented before the courts in the Debbie Purdy case, commented: "If  doctors found the victim’s pain difficult to control, they should have referred him for specialist palliative care.

"Mr Gosling claims that he killed the man as part of a 'pact'. Morally and legally, this does not change the case from one of murder to one of suicide. We hope Mr Gosling’s frank admission will lead him to regret his crime, though nothing will bring back the sad victim. We are glad that the police are investigating.

"We call upon the legal authorities to ensure that future potential victims are protected, by upholding existing laws against the intentional killing of the innocent. Changing the law or watering down prosecuting policy on assisted suicide or euthanasia would pose a major threat to the terminally-ill, the disabled and vulnerable people generally.

"In practice, acceptance of assisted suicide or euthanasia leads to cases of murder. The BBC has been complicit in this slippery slope towards unlawful homicide through its biased programming", concluded Mr Ozimic.