UK police say death of Hong Kong spying suspect Matthew Trickett not suspicious, days after city official calls for clarity
- Thames Valley Police confirm Trickett’s death ‘not being treated as suspicious’ after completing postmortem
- Beijing’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong expresses dissatisfaction with UK over ‘smearing’ of China and prosecution of citizens based in Britain
Thames Valley Police announced on Friday afternoon that a postmortem was completed on behalf of the coroner two days earlier.
“As a result of this and further inquiries conducted by detectives, we can confirm the death is not being treated as suspicious. Thames Valley Police is now preparing a file for the coronial process,” it said.
“Mr Trickett’s family are being supported by specialist officers, our thoughts remain with them, and we would kindly ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
The 37-year-old ex-Royal Marine was among three suspects earlier charged under the United Kingdom’s National Security Act with assisting an overseas intelligence service and foreign interference between December 2023 and May of this year.
Trickett, alongside Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, and Peter Wai Chi-leung, 38, a director of a private security firm, were released on bail by a court on May 13.
But he was later found dead in Grenfell Park in Maidenhead, a kilometre away from his correspondence address in the town west of London, last Sunday. Police at the time classified the death as “unexplained”.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah earlier this week met a senior British diplomat in Hong Kong to call for more details on the investigation into Trickett’s death to prevent “unwarranted speculation”.
British prosecutors on Friday dropped espionage charges against Trickett.
The other two defendants will go on trial in Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court on February 10 of next year, with the hearing expected to last up to five weeks.
Beijing’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong on Saturday also expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the UK over its “smearing” of China, as well as the prosecution of its citizens based in Britain and the disruption to the operations of Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office in London.
“The false accusations and despicable manipulation of the UK seriously damaged the rule of law, seriously infringed on the legal rights of Chinese citizens in the country, and seriously goes against international legal principles and the basic principles of international relations,” it said.
The commissioner’s office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the city also stressed Hong Kong was a part of the country and objected to any foreign interference in its internal affairs.
“We strongly urge the UK to immediately stop its anti-China actions, stop this type of self-made political farce, effectively protect the legal rights of Chinese citizens in the UK, and ensure Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office in London can discharge its duties normally,” it said.
“If the British intend to continue acting in its own way, the Chinese will resolutely respond with strong measures.”
Additional reporting by Harvey Kong
