The Isle of Man is being urged not to introduce assisted suicide after a poll found that islanders are evenly split on the issue. 

The results of the Manx consultation found that 49.61% disagreed with legalising assisted suicide on the island, while 49.01% were in favour of it. 

The consultation asked, "In principle, do you agree or disagree that assisted dying should be permitted for terminally ill adults on the Isle of Man?"

There were 3,326 responses in total, the majority of which came from islanders.

In response to the consultation, Dr Ben Harris, President of the Isle of Man Medical Society and a member of the Manx Duty of Care campaign group, warned that legalising assisted suicide "would irreparably damage our caring Manx society".

"The experience in other jurisdictions has demonstrated there is no safe way to legislate for assisted dying and it should now be dropped completely," he said. 

The campaign for assisted suicide on the Isle of Man is being led by Dr Alex Allinson, who introduced the Private Members' Bill in June last year.