The Metropolitan Police will be questioned by a coroner over their handling of warnings about an imported 'suicide poison' that was sent to a 22-year-old student who later died. Thomas Parfett was found dead in a Premier Inn in Sunbury-on-Thames in October 2021, after receiving a lethal substance sent by Kenneth Law.
Law, 61, has since pleaded guilty in Canada to assisting 14 suicides in his home country. Investigations by the UK's National Crime Agency have identified 286 UK recipients of Law's packages, which have been linked to an estimated 79 deaths. Law is understood to have sold 1,200 such packages across 40 countries.
An inquest at Surrey Coroners' Court heard that in August 2021, a woman contacted the Met's counterterrorism team to report that her 20-year-old daughter had died from Law's poison a month earlier. The force's chemical reporting team acknowledged awareness of similar tragic circumstances involving the lethal substance.
Counsel for the Parfett family, Kate Beattie, stated that the company and individual involved were known to the police and had been brought to Scotland Yard's attention in connection with a previous death. "Mr Parfett's very acute concern is that this was a matter of months before Thomas's death and before he purchased the substance and took it," Beattie told the court, highlighting concerns about what actions, if any, were taken by the Met or the Home Office between July and October 2021.
Coroner Darren Stewart OBE indicated he would seek answers from the Met regarding their knowledge of the poison at the time. Stewart suggested there was sufficient evidence to indicate that Thomas's death was linked to his ability to purchase the toxic substance from overseas without adequate checks. The inquest also heard that Thomas had accessed a chat room focused on suicide ideation, which may have influenced his decision.
Communications regulator Ofcom has since taken action to block the website from UK users, though existing account holders and those using VPNs may still have access. The inquest heard that investigators had difficulty accessing the site.
Thomas's father, David Parfett, expressed anger over the decision not to extradite Law to Britain, stating it offered no justice for his son. He also voiced concerns that the forum used by his son remains publicly accessible and functions as a marketplace for such methods, potentially endangering others.
The inquest will also consider whether current legislation, the UK's Poisons Act, is adequate for addressing the modern challenges posed by online substance sales. The coroner noted the distressing young age of many victims linked to these substances and the need for updated legislation to reflect changes in public life and online purchasing.