Emma Nightingale, 36, says she was the victim of a grave injustice after being charged with murder when her mother, Lorna, was found dead from a drug overdose after taking the tablets in a hotel where the pair had been staying.

Mrs Nightingale, 70, had chronic kidney disease, severe dental problems and cataracts in both eyes.

Emma Nightingale says her mother “begged her” to get her the tablets because she could no longer bear the pain. (Image: Suffolk Constabulary)

Her daughter, Ms Nightingale, says her mother “begged” her to get the tablets because she could no longer bear the pain and wanted to end her life.

After five months in custody, Ms Nightingale pleaded not guilty to murder during an appearance at the Old Bailey, a month before her trial was due to start.

But she walked free the same day after prosecutors dropped the case, saying there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.

Ms Nightingale, from Lowestoft, has now given an extraordinary account of her mother's death and her own role in it, while she waits to learn if the Crown Prosecution Service will instead charge her with the offence of encouraging or assisting suicide.

It comes at a time of intense public debate over the issue, with politicians arguing over whether to introduce legislation to allow adults with terminal conditions to seek help to end their lives.

FROM LOWESTOFT TO LONDON

The mother and daughter had both been living in Lowestoft.

Ms Nightingale, a self-employed business administrator, had left a 13‑year relationship and was acting as a full-time carer for her mother.

However, as her health deteriorated, they found the property - which was damp and had stairs which Mrs Nightingale could no longer climb - increasingly unsuitable.

Lorna Nightingale in the bottom-floor bedsit in Walthamstow, where she died. (Image: Emma Nightingale)

Last year, they decided to relocate to Walthamstow, in east London, and moved into a ground-floor bedsit at the Trinity House hotel.

Mrs Nightingale, who had always dreamed of experiencing London, wanted to ride in taxis, shop at Westfield and see shows at the city's theatres before becoming bedbound.

However, their move to the capital sparked a major police search last........

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