Former Royal Marine accused of assisting Hong Kong intelligence found dead in Maidenhead park

A man accused of assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service has died in "unexplained circumstances" in a park in Maidenhead.

Matthew Trickett, 37, was a Home Office Immigration Enforcement officer who had previously served for six years as a Royal Marine.

He was charged with foreign interference and assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act earlier this month.

Trickett was on bail, having appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week.

Thames Valley Police said he was found dead in Grenfell Park, Maidenhead, by a member of the public on Sunday evening.

Officers attended the scene with emergency services, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. They said an investigation is ongoing into the death, which is currently being treated as unexplained.

In a statement, his family said "we are mourning the loss of a much-loved son, brother, and family member," and asked for privacy.

Trickett had been accused of the charges alongside Chi Leung Wai and Chung Biu Yuen.

It was alleged that between December 2023 and May 2024, they had agreed to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service.

It is also alleged that they forced entry into a UK residence on May 1, 2024.

The head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, Dominic Murphy, said at the time that although the offences were "concerning", they did "not believe there to be any wider threat" to the public.

All three were due to appear at the Old Bailey on Friday.

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