A star Treasury employee took her own life the day after being called into a disciplinary meeting concerning an anonymous complaint, a coroner has ruled. Chloe Moffat, 26, died in May last year, and a coroner on Tuesday found the Treasury had "materially contributed" to her death by failing to reassure her that she was unlikely to be fired.

Her mother, Anna Moffat, stated that her daughter had been happy at the Treasury and was unaware she was about to receive a bonus when the complaint surfaced. "She was so happy working there, absolutely happy. She was ready for a promotion and then there were some allegations made and Chloe denied them," Anna Moffat told The Times. "We know what the allegations were about — it was no more than office gossip, I’m sure it was all vexatious, sadly. It wasn’t dealt with according to policy, as the coroner said."

According to her mother, Ms. Moffat, who had worked as a PA at the Treasury for three years, had recently received a bonus following her end-of-year review, a fact she had not yet learned. Emails from directors indicated her daughter was highly regarded and had an unblemished employment record. Moffat's mother shared that her daughter had no history of mental illness. On May 19 last year, Ms. Moffat was summoned to a meeting with two managers. Her line manager, Kim Aldrich, and the head of global issues, Liz Farmer, were present. Ms. Aldrich stated that Ms. Moffat had requested a friend accompany her to the meeting, but this was deemed "inappropriate."

During the meeting, Ms. Moffat was informed of an anonymous allegation that she had shared sensitive confidential information about colleagues, which she denied. Visibly upset, Ms. Moffat asked if she would lose her job, but the senior manager stated they "could not predict the outcome at this stage."

Coroner Anna Crawford concluded that Ms. Moffat should have been informed that, even if the allegations were proven, the likely consequence would have been a written warning rather than dismissal. The coroner suggested that Ms. Moffat's fear of losing her job likely contributed to her decision to end her life.

Following the meeting, Ms. Moffat's access to her director's email inbox and diary was temporarily suspended. She was also advised not to discuss the allegations or the potential investigation with colleagues.

Ms. Moffat sent a text message to a friend after the meeting stating, "I am going to be fired." The friend met with Ms. Moffat in central London, where she became distressed and "incredibly concerned about the reputational impact" of the allegations. Despite attempts at reassurance, Ms. Moffat remained upset.

Ms. Moffat returned to Godalming, Surrey, to be with her parents and was found dead by her father the following morning, May 20. The medical cause of death was determined to be hanging. The inquest heard she had no prior mental health concerns and had engaged in normal interactions with friends and colleagues at work the day before her death.

Crawford stated, "HM Treasury materially contributed to Ms Moffat's death by not applying their written Discipline Policy and Procedure in that they did not inform her that the likely penalty if the allegations were proven was a written warning and not dismissal." The coroner added that Ms. Moffat should have received the allegations in a letter instead of being called into the meeting. While managers followed HR advice, the complaint was not handled according to company policy.

Internal emails revealed that while the meeting was described as an informal "fact-finding" session, misconduct had already been deemed "serious." Crawford believed the meeting's true purpose was to elicit an admission from Ms. Moffat to proceed with a formal disciplinary process. The coroner also noted that adequate safeguarding measures, necessary for serious misconduct allegations, should have been in place for Ms. Moffat.

Crawford concluded that Ms. Moffat's death was a suicide and that she had intended to take her own life. A prevention of future deaths report will be sent to the Treasury and the head of the civil service, as the coroner indicated there may be a "wider issue" within the government.

In a statement, Ms. Moffat's parents described her as a "bright, caring and talented young woman" who loved her family, friends, and work. They added, "She had an exemplary employment record, was highly regarded by those who worked with her, and had a promising future ahead of her."

A Treasury spokesperson said, "We continue to mourn Chloe's passing as a colleague and friend. Our thoughts remain with her family and friends. We take the Coroner's concerns extremely seriously and recognise it is important to act quickly. We are now considering the findings carefully. We have introduced improvements to guidance, support and wellbeing arrangements but recognise we must continue to take action to prevent this happening again."