Antonya Cooper: Mum who ended life of terminally ill son dies

In a statement to the BBC, Mrs Cooper’s daughter, Tabitha, said: “She was peaceful, pain free, at home and surrounded by her loving family.

“It was exactly the way she wanted it. She lived life on her terms and she died on her terms.”

She also said that the family had been visited by officers from Thames Valley Police following the BBC News report last Wednesday about her brother’s death.

Hamish had stage 4 neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that mostly affects children.

He had been in a lot of pain, Mrs Cooper told the BBC.

After 16 months of treatment, she said she had given him a large dose of morphine through his Hickman Catheter, external that “did quietly end his life”.

When asked if she understood she was potentially admitting to manslaughter or murder, she replied: “Yes.”

“If [the police] come 43 years after I have allowed Hamish to die peacefully, then I would have to face the consequences. But they would have to be quick, because I’m dying too,” she had said.