Father of Duke’s comrade found dead calls inquest verdict ‘cop-out’

♦ The father of a soldier whose comrade was Prince Harry has accused a coroner of a “cop-out” after his son’s death was not ruled as a suicide.

Derek Hunt, 66, said he was “disappointed” after Paul Smith, the Lincolnshire coroner, recorded a “wishy-washy” narrative verdict at his son Nathan’s inquest.

Warrant Officer Hunt was found hanging at his home in Lincoln on Jan 2 after he was said to be struggling with his mental health.

The inquest heard the 39-year-old’s nerve-racking experiences on the battlefield triggered “nightmares and sleeplessness”.

Mr Hunt, who was himself a career soldier, said there was “evidence” to suggest his son had killed himself and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which would have caused the Ministry of Defence “sit up and take more notice”, had it been recorded as his cause of death.

He told The Mail on Sunday: “All the evidence was there to suggest his death was a suicide whichever way you look at it, but it seems that it isn’t in the eyes of the law.

“Instead, the coroner came back with a wishy-washy narrative verdict that did not record that conclusion – it was probably down to the absence of a suicide note. But it is really just a cop-out. It didn’t address that he had PTSD, even though there was evidence that he did.”

WO Hunt, a former Royal Engineer, was decorated for his bravery after he successfully identified roadside bombs planted by the Taliban and protected the Duke of Sussex as part of a desert reconnaissance unit in Helmand province in 2008. The Prince sent a private letter of condolence to WO Hunt’s parents following his death.