Hampshire diplomat Richard Morris's cause of death still unknown, inquest hears

An inquest, opened this morning, heard that following a post-mortem examination carried out on the body of 52-year-old Richard Morris, a medical cause of death was given as ‘unascertained’.

Mr Morris was last seen running near his home in nearby Bentley on May 6.

A member of the public found Mr Morris’ body in Alice Holt Forest near Farnham on August 31.

Senior coroner for Hampshire Christopher Wilkinson said consultant forensic pathologist Dr Russell Delaney carried out the initial examination on the body, adding: ‘The nature of his death is at this stage unascertained.’

Further evidence will be gathered for an inquest in June 2021.

At the time of the discovery of his body, police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

His family described Mr Morris ‘as funny, kind and smart, in a statement released at the time of his death.

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth court closes Southsea flat 'used by suspected county lines drug dealers' as neighbours complain of 'endless' late-night visits

It added: ‘Above all else, Richard was a family man. A loving and loyal husband, father, son and brother.

‘He showed us the world but he was our world and we are devastated by his loss.’

Mr Morris was the ambassador to Nepal between 2015 and November 2019 and accompanied the Duke of Sussex during his tour of the country in 2016.

Before that he was head of the Pacific department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has held senior diplomatic posts including in Australia and Mexico during nearly 30 years’ service.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.