A general practitioner in England who admitted in media interviews that he had helped terminally ill patients to die was in the dock at Newcastle Crown Court this week on trial for murder.

Dr David Moor's foray into the euthanasia debate nearly two years ago has brought him face to face with the possibility of an automatic life sentence if found guilty of the murder of 85 year old retired ambulanceman George Liddell in July 1997 with a large dose of diamorphine.

Dr Moor, aged 52, has retired early from his practice under the pressure of a lengthy police investigation.

The court heard that Dr …