A British woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her Appeal Court bid to ensure that her husband will not face prosecution if he helps her end her life by assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Debbie Purdy launched the appeal after the high court ruled that it could not force the director of public prosecutions to issue a policy statement explaining the circumstances in which relatives and friends who helped loved ones to die would or would not be prosecuted for aiding or abetting a suicide.

Ms Purdy, 45, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, argued that without assurances that her husband, Omar Puente, would escape prosecution, she would …