A MEDIC dubbed "Dr Death" has appointed Scottish lawyers amid concerns his Edinburgh Fringe show about assisted suicide could breach Scots law.
Dr Philip Nitschke, 67, a right-to-die campaigner who pioneered a short-lived euthanasia law in Australia, will demonstrate an assisted-dying device and tell satirical euthanasia anecdotes at his Fringe show Dicing With Dr Death.
Dr Nitschke was questioned under caution by Metropolitan Police upon his recent entry to the UK amid concerns about the content of his show.
With just two weeks to go until his show opens at The Caves in Edinburgh, the medic has appointed Scottish lawyers to ensure it does not breach the law on advising, counselling or assisting others to commit suicide.
Anti-euthanasia group Care Not Killing has urged Police Scotland and the Crown Office to take a close look at the show.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie, who piloted the recently-defeated Assisted Suicide Bill through Holyrood, welcomed Dr Nitschke to Scotland provided his show is conducted "in a sensitive and respectful manner".
Dr Nitschke said: "Obviously we have to travel quite close to the edge, certainly the edge of the law if not necessarily the edge of good taste.
"The edge of the law is the reason the Metropolitan Police wanted to talk to me about the show, because giving information about these sorts of drugs can be construed as being in breach of the law which prohibits advising, counselling or assisting.
"We will be asking people attending the show to sign disclaimers for that very reason."
Dr Nitschke has not spoken to Police Scotland or the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service about his show, which opens on August 6.
He said he was now seeking advice from an expert in Scots law.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, a spokesman for Care Not Killing, said: "The Lord Advocate said if you are seeking to assist someone to commit suicide that will be an offence under Scotland's homicide legislation, so I think the Crown Office and the police should be taking a close look at what is being said at this show and deciding whether it is in breach of the law.
"We're not in favour of closing down free speech as long as he is staying within the law and not encouraging people to take their own life."
Mr Harvie, who spearheaded Scotland's assisted dying debate following the death of MSP Margo MacDonald after a long and painful illness, said: "At one level any contribution to a frank and open public discussion of death and dying is welcome, but it's important that this debate is conducted in a sensitive and respectful manner."
MSPs rejected plans to legalise assisted suicide for the second time in May when they voted against the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill.
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