NEW GUIDELINES on prosecution in cases of assisted suicide have been broadly welcomed by campaigners concerned about a threat to vulnerable people.

The guidelines issued last week by Kier Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, were not intended to change the law on assisting suicide but to clarify the circumstances in which someone would be prosecuted.

Under the new guidelines, someone may not face prosecution for helping someone to die if they can be shown to have acted for purely compassionate motives and with the full awareness and consent of the person who dies.

Mr Starmer was adamant that 'The policy does not open the door for euthanasia or so-called mercy killings.'

Lord Carlile, Chairman of Care Not Killing, said the new guidelines 'greatly reduce the risk of undermining existing law'.

He continued, 'There are still some flaws and problems which will need attention, such as how a compassionate suspects motives are to be determined in practice. '

Dr Trevor Stammers, a lecturer in healthcare ethics, said that the guidance was 'broadly sound and to be welcomed'.

'Any suggestion that assisting the suicide of the disabled, depressed or otherwise "intolerably" distressed was less likely to lead to prosecution would inevitably lead to increased vulnerablity for such groups.

'I have already seen recently several depressed patients who have told me that the debate on the interim guidlelines has made them feel their lives were less significant.

'It is excellent news that these definitive guidelines focus on the motivation of the suspect rather than any characteristic of the victim that could further the highly dangerous concept of the "life not worth living".

However, it was hard to decide whether someone's motivation was compassion, he added. 'As a GP with over 25 years experience, I have known family members to do some pretty ghastly things to "loved ones", especially involving deception and lying, on the grounds that they were being compassionate.'