AN investigation has begun in Switzerland into the death of a chronically ill British woman who won a landmark victory in her fight for the right to travel abroad for an assisted suicide.

Zurich police confirmed that the 66-year-old woman, known only as Mrs Z, died on Wednesday in their city.

Lawyers for Mrs Z, from Cheshire, who suffered from cerebellar ataxia, an incurable brain disease, had won a legal battle in the High Court 24 hours earlier.

This allowed her husband of 45 years, a former insurance clerk, to help her travel to Switzerland as soon as an injunction that had been secured by her local health authority was lifted.

Her death was reported to the police by Dignitas, a non-profit group that helps terminally ill people commit suicide legally. In Britain it is a criminal offence to help someone to commit suicide, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Merseyside pensioner Reg Crew flew to Switzerland last year to commit patient- assisted suicide with the help of Dignitas. Merseyside police spoke to his wife, Win Crew, 72, on her return but took no further action.

Yesterday Win Crew said Mrs Z would have died in a good environment. “They are wonderful people at the centre,” she said. “They were very caring and very helpful and made Reg’s end dignified. It would have been a good environment for her there.”

She added: “I hope this will open people’s eyes that something has to be done.”

Mrs Z’s case was brought to court by the health authority, which learnt that the couple were preparing to go abroad.

Mr Justice Hedley ruled that the couple, who are believed to have had three children who reluctantly accepted their mother’s wishes, should not be named. He said: “The court should not frustrate indirectly the rights of Mrs Z. The role of Mr Z is now a matter for the criminal justice agencies.”

Malcolm Sharpe, counsel for Mr Z, said Mrs Z had “expressed a clear view” and psychiatric reports proved she had the capacity to make the decision.

Dignitas is run by Ludwig Minelli and has helped more than 20 Britons die since it was set up in 1998. Under the Swiss legal system, where suicide is legal if self-administered, it offers “dying preparation, dying company and free death assistance”.

People wishing to take up an assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic pay a membership fee of a minimum of €38 (£26).

According to Dignitas, death takes place with at least two witnesses present, including a lawyer and doctor. Patients administer a lethal combination of drugs that sends them to sleep within minutes, followed swiftly by death.

David Blunkett, the home secretary, has said he could be “persuaded” to change the law but the government is currently allowing the House of Lords to debate the issue.

Peers have set up a committee to study proposals put forward by Lord Joffe to make it legal for terminally ill people to kill themselves in Britain.

They are due to report back next year after hearing from expert witnesses. The committee could recommend Britain should follow the lead of Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, where euthanasia is legal.

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