Alleged spy told police ‘he would harm himself’ before Maidenhead death

Originally from Wimborne, Dorset, he joined the Royal Marines aged 20 and served in the Arctic, the Mediterranean, Brunei and Afghanistan.

He had worked in security from 2013 and his clients had included Middle Eastern royal families.

His family said that while he could be “slightly naive”, he made friends easily and would “put himself in harm’s way without a second’s thought”.

Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 40, was sentenced to 10 years and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, was given an eight-year prison term in June.

The Chinese-British nationals were found to have been involved in a “shadow policing operation… conducted on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities, and by extension, the Chinese state”.

Wai was found to have drawn Trickett into his surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents.

Among that activity, in 2023 Trickett was tasked by Wai to arrange for high-profile Hong Kong activist Nathan Law to be followed while he spoke at the Oxford Union student society.

The inquest continues.