21 May 2024 , 15:33
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A former Royal Marine accused of spying on Hong Kong activists in Britain has died in unexplained circumstances in a park.
Matthew Trickett was among three men charged under the National Security Act with surveillance for the Hong Kong intelligence service and foreign interference.
The defendant had been released on bail and was due to appear at the Old Bailey in London on Friday.
This was until the 37-year-old was found dead in Grenfell Park, in Maidenhead, at 5.15pm on Sunday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Thames Valley Police is investigating Trickett’s death, which is now being treated as ‘unexplained’.
His family have been informed and they are being supported by officers, with a post-mortem examination to be conducted in due course.
In a statement, the family told The Times: ‘We are mourning the loss of a much-loved son, brother and family man.’
Trickett had appeared alongside Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week.
During the hearing, he was charged with ‘assisting a foreign intelligence service’ for Hong Kong by agreeing to undertake ‘information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception, that was likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out UK-related activities’ between December 20 and May 2.
Trickett was also allegedly engaged in ‘foreign interference’ that involved ‘forcing entry into a UK residential address’ on May 1.
The Chinese Embassy in London accused the British government of fabricating the charges and said it had no right to interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs.
‘The UK side must not go further down the wrong path of jeopardising China-UK relations,’ it said in a statement.
Spying allegations against China and Russia have been piling up in the West in recent years, but both countries have dismissed them as part of a global smear campaign.
Police said the charges against the three men were not linked to a separate case involving Russia, which was also conducted under the same national security law.