A former Royal Marine charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service told police he would harm himself after leaving custody, an inquest heard. Matthew Trickett, 37, a Home Office immigration officer, was found dead in a park in Maidenhead on 19 May 2024, days after being released on bail. Reading Coroner's Court heard that officers had seen him attempting self-harm in his cell and that he later told a custody sergeant he would not harm himself while in custody but would do so after his release.
Trickett was arrested on 1 May 2024 and appeared in court charged under the National Security Act. He was put under constant supervision after an attempted self-harm on 11 May, but was granted bail two days later. Contractor Serco was due to fit an electronic tag to ensure he was adhering to bail conditions imposed by Westminster Magistrates' Court, but on 19 May it told Thames Valley Police it had not been able to monitor him, and officers sought to arrest him. He was later found dead in Grenfell Park by a member of the public.
Metropolitan Police custody sergeant Del May said officers had seen Trickett attempting self-harm. May said Trickett told him he had a "lot of respect for police" and would not harm himself in custody, but would do so after. May said he thought the potential harm was a "really good reason" for keeping Trickett in custody. But doctors who monitored Trickett said his mood dipped and then improved before he was granted bail, attributing the change to testosterone he had been receiving before his arrest.
Trickett's family said in a statement that he was "proud of his career" and "well loved" by former colleagues. They said he could be "slightly naive" and would "put himself in harm's way without a second's thought".
Two co-defendants, Chi Leung “Peter” Wai and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, were jailed in June and were found to have been involved in a “shadow policing operation” conducted on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities and, by extension, the Chinese state. Wai was found to have drawn Trickett into surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents, including in 2023 when Trickett was tasked by Wai with arranging for high-profile activist Nathan Law to be followed while he spoke at the Oxford Union student society.
The inquest is expected to last until 18 November.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The inquest examines whether bail conditions and monitoring were adequate given Trickett's stated intent to harm himself.
- The case highlights the challenges of managing risk in national security cases involving alleged foreign intelligence operations.
- The outcome could raise questions about the supervision of defendants released on bail in similar circumstances.
Background
This is a UK inquest into the death of a man charged under the National Security Act with assisting a foreign intelligence service. Trickett was one of three men charged; two co-defendants were convicted and jailed. The case has drawn attention to alleged Chinese intelligence activities in the UK.
Key Perspectives
Custody sergeant Del May: said the potential harm to Trickett was a "really good reason" for keeping him in custody.
Doctors who monitored Trickett: said his mood dipped and then improved before bail was granted, attributing the improvement to testosterone treatment he had been receiving before his arrest.
Trickett's family: said he was "proud of his career" and "well loved" by former colleagues, while acknowledging he could be "slightly naive".
What to Watch
- The inquest continues until 18 November; watch for findings on the decision to grant bail and the failure of electronic monitoring.
- Whether the coroner's conclusion raises questions about Serco's failure to monitor the tag.
- Any statements from police or the Home Office following the inquest.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe inquest heard that Matthew Trickett said he would harm himself after leaving custody.BBC News: “A former Royal Marine found dead after he was charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service told police he would harm himself after he left custody, an inquest heard.”
- SupportedTrickett was found dead in a Maidenhead park on 19 May 2024, days after being released on bail in the Hong Kong intelligence case.BBC News: “Matthew Trickett, 37, a Home Office immigration officer, had appeared in court charged under the National Security Act and was found dead in a park in Maidenhead on 19 May 2024. He had been arrested on 1 May 2024 and was seen to attempt self-harm in his cell on 11 May. He was put under constant supervision but released on bail two days later.”
- SupportedTrickett was a former Royal Marine charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service.BBC News: “A former Royal Marine found dead after he was charged with assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service told police he would harm himself after he left custody, an inquest heard.”
- SupportedTrickett was 37 and worked as a Home Office immigration officer.BBC News: “Matthew Trickett, 37, a Home Office immigration officer, had appeared in court charged under the National Security Act”
- SupportedTrickett told custody sergeant Del May that he had a “lot of respect for police” and would not harm himself in custody but would after leaving.BBC News: “May said Trickett later told him that he had a "lot of respect for police" and would not harm himself in custody, but would do so after he left.”
- SupportedTrickett attempted self-harm on 11 May, was put under constant supervision and was released on bail two days later.BBC News: “He had been arrested on 1 May 2024 and was seen to attempt self-harm in his cell on 11 May. He was put under constant supervision but released on bail two days later.”
- SupportedSerco was due to fit Trickett with an electronic tag, but told Thames Valley Police on 19 May it had not been able to monitor him, after which officers sought to arrest him.BBC News: “Contractor Serco was due to fit an electronic tag to Trickett to ensure he was adhering to bail conditions imposed on him by Westminster Magistrates' Court. But on 19 May, it told Thames Valley Police that it "had not been able to monitor" Trickett and officers sought to arrest him, Reading Coroner's Court heard.”
- SupportedA member of the public found Trickett dead in Grenfell Park.BBC News: “He was later found dead in Grenfell Park by a member of the public.”
- SupportedMay said he thought the potential harm was a “really good reason” to keep Trickett in custody.BBC News: “The officer said he thought the potential harm was a "really good reason" for keeping Trickett in custody.”
- SupportedDoctors said Trickett's mood dipped and then improved before bail, attributing the change to testosterone he had been receiving before his arrest.BBC News: “But doctors who monitored Trickett said his mood dipped and then improved before he was granted bail. They attributed that change him being given testosterone, which he had been receiving before he was arrested.”
- SupportedTrickett's family said he was “proud of his career” and “well loved” by former colleagues, and described him as “slightly naive” and someone who would “put himself in harm's way without a second's thought”.BBC News: “Trickett's family said in a statement that he was "proud of his career" and was "well loved" by former colleagues. His family said that while he could be "slightly naive", he made friends easily and would "put himself in harm's way without a second's thought".”
- SupportedThe two co-defendants were jailed in June and found to have been involved in a “shadow policing operation” on behalf of Hong Kong authorities and, by extension, the Chinese state.BBC News: “Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 40, was sentenced to 10 years and Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, was given an eight-year prison term in June. The Chinese-British nationals were found to have been involved in a "shadow policing operation... conducted on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities, and by extension, the Chinese state".”