Man convicted of wife’s manslaughter wants changes to assisted dying law

Retired Northumberland miner David Hunter says he hopes that the Cypriot and British Governments will work together to change the law on assisted dying.

76-year-old David, from Ashington, was sentenced to two years imprisonment for the manslaughter of his wife of 52 years Janice in July, after she begged him to put an end to her suffering from terminal blood cancer. He was freed immediately after his sentence after serving 19 months in custody and good behaviour.

In his first TV appearance since his release, he spoke of his hope that Cypriot and British Governments would work together on Good Morning Britain. David said: “When you take someone’s life, especially your wife who you love so much, it hurts, it really hurts.

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“I’ve had quite a few nightmares, I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. I would like to see the Cypriot government and the British government get together and try and work something out because I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s gone through this.”

David told presenters Ranvir Singh and Ed Balls that the 16 years the couple had spent in Cyprus were the “best of their lives” before Janice was diagnosed with blood cancer. He said: “She had a fantastic smile and she was always busy, always meeting friends.

“But I think the best years of her life were spent here – sixteen years before she took ill. The sixteen best years we ever had were spent here [in Cyprus]”.