London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

UK diplomat under ‘extreme stress’ took his own life, rules coroner

UK diplomat under ‘extreme stress’ took his own life, rules coroner

Former Nepal ambassador worked 15-hour shifts for Foreign Office’s Covid taskforce with little time off
A distinguished British diplomat killed himself after suffering “extreme stress” while he worked long hours with little time off on the Covid crisis, a coroner has concluded.

Richard Morris, the former ambassador to Nepal, feared that he would lose his upcoming post as high commissioner of Fiji if he could not prove his “resilience”, senior coroner Chris Wilkinson said.

After returning from Nepal, Morris, 52, worked on the case of Harry Dunn, the teenage motorcyclist killed in a crash that sparked diplomatic tension between the UK and the US after the suspect, an American citizen, flew home.

He then began working 15-hour shifts six or seven days a week for the Foreign Office’s Covid taskforce and suffered from night sweats, worrying that he was going to make a mistake that could land him in prison, the hearing in Winchester heard.

Morris vanished from the family home in May 2020 and his body was not found until 31 August in woodland only 2.5 miles away.

The coroner said: “The volume of work was intense and we now know Richard was suffering. Richard suffered an element of a breakdown.”

Wilkinson said the pandemic “weighed heavily” on Morris. “In essence from the end of January he had very little – if any – downtime. When he did it was interrupted by his thoughts about work and anxieties or interrupted by calls for help.

“I fear that he was very much caught in his own thought process, his diligence and his desire that everything was done correctly and desire to not let the team down, whether that was the team, the government or the country.

“Resilience was a significant factor for Richard. His view was that he needed to do the best that he could, that his resilience would put his service at risk and his position in Fiji at risk.”

Julia Longbottom, Morris’s boss in the Covid taskforce who is now the British ambassador to Japan, told the inquest she believed he was willingly “going the extra mile”.

She said: “There wasn’t anything in his behaviour that indicated a significant change in the way he was or the way he was functioning or the way he was acting towards colleagues.

“What I noticed was a slightly more extreme or exaggerated Richard than I had worked with previously, who was somewhat prone to double checking things or question whether he was getting things right or how he was doing.

“My focus was reassuring him that he was doing a good job and the team were able to do things.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×