Anthony Lester, a London lawyer, who often fought cases concerning right-to-die issues has died. When on the Sunday Times staff in the l960s and l970s I often worked with him – a remarkable man – on campaigns. Following are two extracts from a lengthy obituary in The Times of 10 August 2020:
Extract 1 from the Times Obituary:
Lester, who was once described as “an old-style advocate of the Rolls-Royce school”, spent a lifetime campaigning for equality and free speech. He was the godfather of much of the legislation, playing a pivotal role in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976, and introducing the civil partnership legislation in 2004.
Extract 2 :
Lester’s other notable cases included the 1993 ruling in which doctors were permitted to stop feeding Tony Bland, a victim of the Hillsborough disaster who was in a persistent vegetative state; acting for Diane Blood, who successfully fought to bear her dead husband’s children; and acting on behalf of Annie Lindsell, a terminally ill woman who in 1997 sought to give her GP the legal right to assist her suicide.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill, UK,QC, barrister, was born on July 3, 1936. He died of heart disease on August 8, 2020, aged 84
Full obit. at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/lord-lester-of-herne-hill-obituary-vqdkf0pn0
