A friend of a British couple who died at a Swiss clinic for ‘assisted dying’ has raised concerns that the wife was coerced by her husband into ending her life.

Ruth Posner, 96, and her husband, Michael, 97, sent an email to friends on Tuesday announcing that by the time the message was read they would both be dead.

Julia Pascal, 75, a close friend of the couple, said that although they both openly discussed planning to take their own lives for two years, she felt that Mrs Posner, an actress, was emotionally controlled by her husband.

“Ruth was disempowered,” Pascal said. “He was very dominant. I spoke to them and sent emails, saying ‘please don’t kill yourselves’. I tried to talk Ruth out of it, but I felt it was too far gone, that she was totally under his control.”

Mrs Posner’s email account was used to send the message to friends and family stating: “The decision was mutual and without any outside pressure.”