BBC presenter Ray Gosling in custody after 'mercy killing' arrest

THE BBC presenter Ray Gosling was in "good spirits" yesterday as he was questioned on suspicion of murder, following his apparent confession to television viewers that he had carried out a mercy killing.

• Ray Gosling at his home in Nottingham before he was arrested on suspicion of murder

The 70-year-old was arrested after he told viewers of BBC East Midlands' Inside Out programme that he had smothered his partner as he lay in hospital suffering from Aids.

After visiting Gosling in custody at a Nottingham police station, his solicitor, Digby Johnson, stressed the investigation was at "a very, very early stage".

He went on: "He is in good spirits and I would ask you to respect these are very difficult times for Ray because, by its very nature, the things we are talking about are as distressing as could be."

After the arrest, a corporation spokesman said: "The BBC has broadcast Ray Gosling's revelation for reasons of journalistic integrity.

"We believe we have handled the report sensitively and appropriately. We kept him fully informed about our representation of his story in the report and he understood that a revelation of this nature could have a number of consequences.

"The BBC is under no legal obligation to refer the matter to the police in these circumstances and since transmission we have been approached by the police and are co-operating fully."

During the programme, aired on Monday night, Gosling said he had smothered his partner because he was "in terrible, terrible pain". Since then, he has refused to name the man involved but has insisted his decision to speak out publicly was right.

Strolling through a graveyard for a segment of the 30-minute show about death, Gosling broke down as he recalled the day he took his lover's life.

He told viewers: "Maybe this is the time to share a secret that I have kept for quite a long time.

"I killed someone once. He was a young chap, he'd been my lover and he got Aids.

"In a hospital one hot afternoon, the doctor said, 'There's nothing we can do', and he was in terrible, terrible pain. 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. The doctor came back and I said, 'He's gone'. Nothing more was ever said."

Gosling, a freelance presenter, said he had no regrets about his actions. He added: "When you love someone, it is difficult to see them suffer. We'd got an agreement, if it got worse, the pain, and nobody could do anything. He was in terrible pain, I was there and I saw it. It breaks you into pieces."

Aiding or abetting another person's death is illegal in England and Wales under the 1961 Suicide Act and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.