The father of a Treasury worker who took her own life a day after she was convinced she was losing her job has attacked Whitehall’s ‘complete failure in their duty of care’.

Chloe Moffat, 26, took her own life on May 20 2025 after being hauled into a meeting with senior staff and accused of sharing sensitive information about her colleagues.

A coroner ruled earlier this month that the Treasury had ‘materially contributed’ to Ms Moffat’s death by failing to follow its own HR procedures. 

Staff had failed to reassure the PA, described as having an ‘exemplary employment record’ over almost three years, that she was unlikely to lose her job.

Her grieving father, David Moffat, has accused the Government department of failing to accept responsibility for its role in her death. The Treasury says it will ‘learn the lessons from this tragedy’.

‘There was no duty of care, there was no safeguarding, there was no consistent… there was no support for Chloe during or after that meeting, from what we’ve seen and what we’ve read,’ Mr Moffat told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

‘It beggars belief that an organisation that is front and central in our Government cannot get it right.’ 

Ms Moffat – who had been planning a holiday with her sister Alice – had attended what she had assumed was a routine meeting with her line manager on May 19 2025.

However, she was met by both her line manager and a senior manager who told her she was being accused of sharing confidential information.

Chloe Moffat, 26, took her own life a day after being hauled into a meeting in which she feared she was going to lose her job

Ms Moffat’s father David (pictured) told the BBC that the lack of support given to his daughter ‘beggars belief’

During the meeting she asked several times if her job was at risk, and if she could be supported by a friend. 

Both requests were refused. Asked by a tearful Ms Moffat if she would lose her job, the senior manager said she ‘could not predict the outcome at this stage’.

A coroner has since ruled that the way the meeting was conducted did not follow Treasury disciplinary policy, which would have made clear that Ms Moffat likely faced a written warning at most if the allegations were proven. It was unlikely that she would have been dismissed.

When she came out of the meeting, Ms Moffat found she was locked out of her emails. She was also told not to mention the allegations to colleagues.

She had texted a friend: ‘I am going to be fired.’ She met the same friend in central London where she ‘broke down crying’ and was ‘distressed’.

Ms Moffat then went to see her parents in Godalming, Surrey, and was found dead by her father the next day. The medical cause of death was given as hanging. 

Coroner Anna Crawford said the young civil servant’s state of mind, fearing that she would lose her job, likely contributed to the decision to take her own life.

Her mother Anne Moffat has since described the claims as ‘vexatious’ and ‘nothing more than office gossip’. 

While Ms Moffat’s parents still believe the Treasury failed in its duty of care towards her, they have received a letter from Treasury permanent secretary James Bowler following the conclusion of the inquest, having met him in August last year in the weeks after her death.

They are unsure whether they will pursue further action against the Government – but say they want ‘redress’.

Ms Moffat was an ‘exemplary’ Treasury employee who, her mother said, became the victim of ‘office gossip’

Ms Moffat’s family say it is seeking ‘redress’ but, as yet, is unsure of whether to take further action against the Government

Mr Moffat told the BBC: ‘If something positive can come from this unbearable loss that we’re suffering, that’s all we look to achieve.’

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

The Treasury previously said it was considering the coroner’s findings ‘carefully’, adding that it had introduced improvements to how it supports the wellbeing of colleagues accused of misconduct. 

It is understood not to be contesting the findings.

A spokesman told the Mail today: ‘The Treasury’s deepest sympathies continue to be with Chloe’s friends and family, and 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.’

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