Police to investigate after British reporter admits on TV he killed dying friend

UK police to investigate mercy killing claim

LONDON — A veteran British TV reporter has reignited the debate about mercy killing after claiming he smothered a former lover who was dying from AIDS.

The Nottinghamshire Police force said it would investigate the claim by Ray Gosling, made on a BBC TV program.

Gosling told BBC radio Tuesday that he and the unidentified man had made a pact. He said he smothered the man in his hospital bed after a doctor left them alone.

Seventy-year-old Gosling did not say where or when the incident took place. He said the man had been in “terrible pain,” and he had made the right decision.

Gosling’s confession was broadcast Monday on the regional BBC newsmagazine show “Inside Out.”

Under British law, assisting a suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.