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| Man 'was making political stand' by writing about last day in Sun newspaper | Man 'was making political stand' by writing about last day in Sun newspaper |
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| A terminally ill man who documented his final hours in the Sun newspaper before visiting a Dignitas clinic was taking one final political stand after a life of tireless activism, friends have said. | A terminally ill man who documented his final hours in the Sun newspaper before visiting a Dignitas clinic was taking one final political stand after a life of tireless activism, friends have said. |
| Bob Cole, 68, the former secretary of Welsh CND, died at the clinic in Zurich, around 18 months after accompanying his wife, Ann Hall, there, where she also died. | Bob Cole, 68, the former secretary of Welsh CND, died at the clinic in Zurich, around 18 months after accompanying his wife, Ann Hall, there, where she also died. |
| Retired carpenter Cole, who suffered from an aggressive form of lung cancer called mesothelioma, declared on Friday’s Sun front page that he would end his life. He is understood to have died around 2.30pm local time at the Swiss centre. He was accompanied by four friends who had been helping care for him at his home in Chester. | Retired carpenter Cole, who suffered from an aggressive form of lung cancer called mesothelioma, declared on Friday’s Sun front page that he would end his life. He is understood to have died around 2.30pm local time at the Swiss centre. He was accompanied by four friends who had been helping care for him at his home in Chester. |
| "One final wish: To get law changed" (via @suttonnick) pic.twitter.com/xRTwiZr3Py | |
| “He was an activist all his life,” Jim Buckley, Cole’s friend of 30 years, told the Guardian. “He was tremendously committed to environmental issues and to nuclear disarmament, he was even in the Communist party back in his youth. | “He was an activist all his life,” Jim Buckley, Cole’s friend of 30 years, told the Guardian. “He was tremendously committed to environmental issues and to nuclear disarmament, he was even in the Communist party back in his youth. |
| “He never shied away from anything and he knew how to get people to work together. This is a final political point he wanted to make.” | “He never shied away from anything and he knew how to get people to work together. This is a final political point he wanted to make.” |
| Buckley, a local businessman in Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales, where Cole was a town councillor, said everyone Cole had spoken to supported his right to die. “As soon as I heard he had mesothelioma, I knew he would come to this decision,” he said. “The law is outrageous and immoral, and I hope enough politicians see how brave he has been. | Buckley, a local businessman in Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales, where Cole was a town councillor, said everyone Cole had spoken to supported his right to die. “As soon as I heard he had mesothelioma, I knew he would come to this decision,” he said. “The law is outrageous and immoral, and I hope enough politicians see how brave he has been. |
| “Bob’s not only on the front page of the Sun, but he’s also on page 3. What a victory. My god, I take my hat off to him.” | “Bob’s not only on the front page of the Sun, but he’s also on page 3. What a victory. My god, I take my hat off to him.” |
| Friend Rory Francis, a public affairs officer for the Woodland Trust who was also a councillor alongside Cole, described him as a fiercely political man with whom he had a shared love of the great outdoors. | Friend Rory Francis, a public affairs officer for the Woodland Trust who was also a councillor alongside Cole, described him as a fiercely political man with whom he had a shared love of the great outdoors. |
| “He was a qualified mountaineer and we worked together at the Snowdonia society,” Francis said, describing Cole as the driving force behind a £4.5m redevelopment of the Blaenau Ffestiniog town centre. | “He was a qualified mountaineer and we worked together at the Snowdonia society,” Francis said, describing Cole as the driving force behind a £4.5m redevelopment of the Blaenau Ffestiniog town centre. |
| “A friend told me she had texted him after his diagnosis offering her sympathy, and he texted back ‘Don’t sympathise, organise’. That was Bob, completely. That shows his character.” | “A friend told me she had texted him after his diagnosis offering her sympathy, and he texted back ‘Don’t sympathise, organise’. That was Bob, completely. That shows his character.” |
| Before his death, which cost £12,000 at the Swiss clinic, Cole told the Sun: “I should be able to die with dignity in my own country, in my own bed. The law needs to change. How do you change the law? People have got to take a stand. So that’s what I’m doing today. | Before his death, which cost £12,000 at the Swiss clinic, Cole told the Sun: “I should be able to die with dignity in my own country, in my own bed. The law needs to change. How do you change the law? People have got to take a stand. So that’s what I’m doing today. |
| “I saw Ann die and a year later to be faced with the same decision yourself is quite the double whammy. I had just started to pick myself up when I fell ill. | “I saw Ann die and a year later to be faced with the same decision yourself is quite the double whammy. I had just started to pick myself up when I fell ill. |
| “The politicians need to have the guts to change this law. Just bite the bullet. Accept that the British public want this change. If they don’t it will be forced upon them because the public feeling is overwhelming.” | “The politicians need to have the guts to change this law. Just bite the bullet. Accept that the British public want this change. If they don’t it will be forced upon them because the public feeling is overwhelming.” |
| After his wife’s death, Cole turned his activism to assist Dignity in Dying, attending numerous demonstrations and events. “Bob’s passing is not only a personal loss to those who knew him, but also for the entire campaign for assisted dying,” a spokesperson for Dignity in Dying said. | After his wife’s death, Cole turned his activism to assist Dignity in Dying, attending numerous demonstrations and events. “Bob’s passing is not only a personal loss to those who knew him, but also for the entire campaign for assisted dying,” a spokesperson for Dignity in Dying said. |
| “Bob was clear that he wanted to continue to support the campaign after his death as he had done while he was alive.” | “Bob was clear that he wanted to continue to support the campaign after his death as he had done while he was alive.” |
| The assisted dying bill, which includes regulations drafted by the shadow justice secretary, Lord Falconer, is due to be debated in the House of Commons on 11 September. | The assisted dying bill, which includes regulations drafted by the shadow justice secretary, Lord Falconer, is due to be debated in the House of Commons on 11 September. |