Grieving parents ask why Treasury manager ‘ambushed’ worker before she took own life | News UK

The bereaved parents of a 26-year-old Treasury worker are asking questions about her manager after she took her own life last year.

Chloe Moffat died by suicide on May 20, 2025, one day after an anonymous complaint was made about her.

Moffat, who worked as a personal assistant in the government department, had an ‘exemplary record’, an inquest heard earlier this month, and was in line for a promotion after receiving a bonus for her work.

However, following a meeting about the complaint, Moffat became ‘distressed’ upon learning she had been accused of sharing sensitive information about her colleagues.

She had not been informed in advance what the meeting would be about, nor was she reassured that it was ‘unlikely’ she’d lose her job of three years or permitted to have a friend or colleague present for support.

A coroner then ruled that the Treasury had ‘materially contributed’ to Moffat’s death by failing to follow its own HR protocols.

Grieving parents Anne and David have since spoken out, wanting to know why their daughter was ‘ambushed’ by her manager over ‘office gossip’.

They said Moffat assumed the meeting she was called in for on May 19 would be a routine chat with her line manager.

Instead, she was also met by a senior manager who informed her of the allegations, which involved discussing salaries, a co-worker’s new job, and a relationship between two members of staff.

The civil servant was locked out of her emails shortly after and instructed not to discuss the matter with her colleagues.

Her mother, Anne, told The Times of the accusations: ‘When her line manager heard them, she said they didn’t sound like the Chloe she knew. 

‘So why ambush her with a meeting like this without checking if they were vexatious, unfounded or simply not true?’

Husband David added: ‘After her death, when we were trying to work out how bad the complaints had been for a meeting like this to be called that led to Chloe taking the drastic action she did, we finally saw the allegations and thought, “Was that it?”‘

After the meeting, Moffat called her mum, a former head of care at a children’s hospice, who was in France at the time. During the call, she made it known that she believed she would be losing her job.

The politics graduate also messaged a friend that day, writing, ‘I am going to be fired.’ She later met the friend and ‘broke down crying’.

That night, Moffat travelled to her family home in Godalming, Surrey, where she and her dad discussed plans to visit Oxford at the weekend.

But the next morning, property director David found his daughter dead, the medical cause of which was determined to be suicide.

Assistant coroner Anna Crawford said Moffat’s state of mind and anxiety over being fired likely contributed to the decision she made to take her life.

Her father echoed this, saying his daughter thought her life had been ‘destroyed’.

It is unlikely that Moffat would have ever been dismissed over the claims.

Now, Anne and David want ‘redress’, but they are unsure whether they will take further action.

The Treasury previously said it was considering the coroner’s findings ‘carefully’ and not contesting.

It has said new measures have been implemented to better support colleagues’ wellbeing when accused of misconduct.

Additionally, a Prevention of Future Deaths report by the coroner has been sent to the Treasury and Dame Antonia Romeo, head of the civil service.

A Treasury spokesperson has said their ‘deepest sympathies’ continue to be with Moffat’s friends and families as the department ‘continues to mourn our colleague’.

‘We will learn the lessons from this tragedy. We are working urgently to respond to the coroner’s findings, and we have introduced immediate changes to our guidance, support, and wellbeing arrangements.

‘Chloe’s parents have agreed to meet with us so we can hear their views and update on actions the department is taking.’

MORE: Dad of Treasury worker who took her own life speaks out about ‘unbearable loss’

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