Inquest hears ex-Marine said he might harm himself after leaving custody

A former Royal Marine told police he might harm himself after leaving custody, an inquest into his death has heard. Matthew Trickett, 37, was found dead in a Maidenhead park after being charged with assisting Hong Kong’s intelligence service.

Trickett had been arrested on 1 May 2024. A custody sergeant, Del May, told Reading Coroner’s Court that officers saw him attempt to harm himself in his cell on 11 May. He was then kept under constant supervision.

May said Trickett told him he respected the police and would not hurt himself while in custody, but would do so after he left. The sergeant said that risk was a strong reason to keep him detained.

Trickett was released on bail two days after the incident. Doctors monitoring him told the inquest his mood had fallen and then improved before bail was granted. They linked the change to his being given testosterone, which he had been taking before his arrest.

The court heard that Serco, the contractor responsible for fitting an electronic monitoring tag under bail conditions set by Westminster Magistrates’ Court, contacted Thames Valley Police on 19 May. It said it had not been able to monitor Trickett. Police sought to arrest him, but he was later found dead in Grenfell Park by a member of the public.

The inquest is taking place at Reading Coroner’s Court and is expected to continue until 18 November. Trickett’s death followed his appearance in court on a charge under the National Security Act. The charge was an allegation; the inquest is examining the circumstances of his death.

Trickett’s family said he was proud of his career and well liked by former colleagues. Originally from Wimborne in Dorset, he joined the Royal Marines aged 20 and served in the Arctic, the Mediterranean, Brunei and Afghanistan. He later worked in security and became a Home Office immigration officer.

The wider investigation concerned an alleged operation on behalf of Hong Kong authorities. Two co-defendants, Chi Leung “Peter” Wai and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, were sentenced to prison in June. Wai received 10 years and Yuen eight years after being found guilty of involvement in what was described in court as a shadow policing operation. Wai was found to have drawn Trickett into surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents.

The inquest also heard that, in 2023, Wai tasked Trickett with arranging for activist Nathan Law to be followed while he spoke at the Oxford Union. The hearing remains ongoing.

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