Mo Mowlam
by Patrick Hennessey

… He (Jon Norton) used an interview with the Mail on Sunday to disclose that [former British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland] Ms Mowlam was killed by the side-effects of the radiotherapy that had saved her life eight years ago when she was treated for a brain tumour.

Doctors told her about the extent of the damage caused by the radiotherapy only weeks before she suffered a heavy fall at the couple's home in Kent last month.

"They said it led to a shrinkage of her brain which put pressure on her blood vessels, causing them to fur up. It caused a form of dementia and that it would get worse," said Mr Norton.

"It was a shock, but at least we finally understood what was going on. It had not been explained to us at the time, but we had a stark choice - radiotherapy or death. At least she had an extra eight years."

Ms Mowlam died last week aged 55, after doctors took her off a life-support system in accordance with her family's wishes and the terms of a living will she signed two years ago.

Mr Norton said, "There was no recurrence of the cancer, nor the tumour. She did not have a stroke, she did not break her neck and there was no internal bleeding."…
The Sunday Telegraph, 21st August 2005