Ex-Ofsted chief has motor neurone disease

The former chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, has revealed he would rather kill himself than die in agony from motor neurone disease. The 62-year-old, who quit as the Government's top schools watchdog after a series of rows with the then Home Secretary David Blunkett, was diagnosed with the disease in 2006.

Revealing his illness yesterday in The Sunday Times, he said: "The prospect of relying on computer-assisted breathing, or assisted speech, is not one I would ever want to tolerate."