Police have arrested BBC broadcaster Ray Gosling after he admitted in a documentary on Monday night that he had smothered a former lover who was suffering from AIDS.

Said a police spokeswoman: "Nottinghamshire police have this morning arrested a 70-year-old Nottingham man on suspicion of murder following comments on the BBC's ‘Inside Out' programme on Monday evening."

The BBC reports: "Mr Gosling has previously said he would not name his lover or say when the incident took place…Mr Gosling said he was aware of the possible consequences and had no regrets.
He said: "It's a terrible situation. I loved him to bits.
'We had a pact – he said if the pain gets bad and if nothing can be done, don't let him linger on. I don't think it's a crime.'
Assisted suicide remains a criminal offence, but interim guidelines issued in September by the director of public prosecutions set out the factors which weigh in favour of and against prosecution."

If you missed Gosling's confession, watch it here.

The confession has inspired a debate over euthanasia in the UK:

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: 'This case yet again demonstrates that this is a real and present problem, which can affect us all.
'The law is out of step with what society needs and wants.
'Crucially, Ray Gosling's loved one was terminally ill and clearly asked for help to die when he was suffering unbearably at the end of his life.
'This illustrates a need for formal assisted dying legislation to help those who want choice at the end of life, as well as protect people who may be vulnerable to coercion.'

Aiding or abetting another person's death is illegal in England and Wales under the 1961 Suicide Act, and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

A spokesman for Care Not Killing said: 'It is somewhat bizarre and highly irresponsible that the BBC, which has known about this case for over two months, has not referred the matter to the police but instead made the decision to make it international news just before the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) releases his assisted suicide prosecution guidelines.

'This will fuel concerns that the BBC is not covering this issue in an even-handed manner and may even be trying to put pressure on both the DPP and Parliament by giving hugely disproportionate coverage to emotive cases in which the facts are selectively presented to an uninformed audience.'