Gosling spared jail over claims he killed lover dying from Aids

A BBC presenter was spared jail after admitting he made up claims that he killed a former lover who was dying of Aids.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Sep 2010, 23:10 BST
Updated 14th Sep 2010, 23:10 BST

Ray Gosling, 71, was given a 90-day suspended prison sentence at Nottingham Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to wasting police time.

The veteran broadcaster and gay rights campaigner recorded a programme shown in February in which he claimed to have carried out the mercy killing of a friend as he lay dying in hospital.

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Yesterday the court heard that Gosling's claims wasted around 1,800 hours of police time, costing in excess of 45,000.

District Judge John Stobart told Gosling: "As cases of wasteful employment of police time go, this is as bad a case of its type as I have seen. You know the power of television celebrity and the trust the public and television producers have in you.

"You have to match this with the responsibility of identifying and telling the truth to the public.

He added: "Your plea and apologies cannot take away the deep distress you voluntarily caused to the people in the process of creating and maintaining this cruel fabrication."

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District Judge Stobart said he would take into account Gosling's age, guilty plea, remorse and previous exemplary character.

Gosling, who appeared in court wearing jeans and a suit jacket, carrying a plastic carrier bag, originally entered a plea of not guilty, telling the court: "In my heart and in my head I plead not guilty."

But after a short adjournment he admitted the charge.

He said: "I just want to say, very clearly and very strongly, sorry to my lover's family and for the distress I have caused them and sorry that apparently I have wasted police time."

Gosling made his false confession on a BBC East Midlands Inside Out programme in February then repeated the claim in interviews.

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In the programme he described the moment he smothered the man with a pillow in hospital, saying he was in "terrible, terrible pain".

A criminal investigation started on February 16 and Gosling was arrested the following day on suspicion of murder.

After spending a night in a police cell, Gosling admitted he was not present at the death and had made up the story.