Tory activist Elliott Johnson inquest not 'a bullying trial'

Elliott Johnson was found dead on railway tracks in Bedfordshire in September

An inquest into the death of a young Conservative activist amid accusations of bullying will not be used as a trial, a coroner has ruled.

Elliott Johnson, who was found dead on railway tracks in Bedfordshire, claimed he was bullied by Tory supporters.

His parents fought for his inquest to be widened to look at the culture in the party.

But, coroner Tom Osborne said: "I will not allow the inquest to be used as a tool for putting anyone on trial."

A pre-inquest review heard Mr Johnson could have suffered "inhuman or degrading" treatment at the hands of party members.

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A letter he wrote, found after his death, was read to Ampthill Coroner's Court, near Milton Keynes, during the hearing on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old wrote: "These past few weeks have been the most difficult of my life. I've failed in money, failed in life, failed in politics."

The allegations centre on the behaviour of former activist Mark Clarke, who has since been expelled from the party. Mr Clarke denies the allegations against him.

Mr Johnson made a complaint about bullying weeks before he was found dead in Bedfordshire in September.

Former parliamentary candidate Mark Clarke, who is at the centre of the allegations, which he denies, has been expelled from the party.

The case subsequently led to the resignation of former party co-chairman Grant Shapps.

The final months of Elliott Johnson's life

• June 2015: He starts working for the campaign group Conservative Way Forward as political editor

• 12 August: Mr Johnson makes a complaint to the Conservative party about activist Mark Clarke. Around the same time he is demoted because of budget cuts

• 5 September: He withdraws his complaint after a meeting Mr Clarke

• 15 September: Mr Johnson is found dead on railway tracks near Sandy station, Bedfordshire

• 16 September: Police find a letter in his room accusing Mr Clarke, who denies allegations of bullying

• 18 November: Mr Clarke is expelled from the party

• 28 November: Grant Shapps resigns amid claims he failed to act on bullying complaints while co-party chairman

Mr Osborne said it was "clearly a sad and tragic case", but emphasised "an inquest is not a trial".

"The purpose is not to determine whether the allegations of bullying set out in the letters left by Mr Johnson were true and I will not allow the inquest to be used as a tool for putting anyone on trial," he said.

"The purpose of an inquest is not to identify individual fault on the part of those involved. In deed it is expressly not concerned with apportioning blame or determining questions of fault."

The coroner added Mr Clarke will not be called as a witness at the inquest.

He said Mr Johnson has a history of self-harm and suicide attempts, but this appears to have had "little or no bearing" on his death.

"It is my view that it would clearly be going beyond the proper scope of this inquest to be calling members of the Conservative Party to inquire into what steps or measures they are taking to investigate the bullying allegations by a party member towards another party member," Mr Osborne said.

Mr Johnson's parents, who live in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, have decided not to participate in an internal review by the Conservative Party saying they fear it will be a whitewash.

In a statement released via lawyers, Ray Johnson said he was "not sure why" the coroner did not want to call Mr Clarke as a witness at his son's inquest.

However, he said he was pleased that Mr Osborne has said he will "keep an open mind in relation to any further information."

Elliott Johnson's parents, Ray and Alison Johnson, wanted his inquest to be widened to hear evidence about the culture in the Conservative Party