Corporal risk 'too high' to be alone, inquest told

Cpl Alexander Tostevin served with the Poole-based Special Boat Service (SBS)

A special forces soldier should not have been alone in the days before he killed himself, a psychiatrist said.

Prof Chris Fox said the "risk was too high" to leave Cpl Alexander Tostevin in his flat with twice daily phone calls and a list of phone numbers.

Cpl Tostevin, 28, who served with the Poole-based Special Boat Service (SBS), was found dead at home in March 2018.

In the week of his death, a nurse had considered a hospital admission but a safety plan was put in place instead.

It involved a family friend staying with him at his flat in Poole, but the friend returned to London three days before his death.

Cpl Tostevin, from Guernsey, was facing a disciplinary hearing for buying cocaine and hiring a prostitute on a military credit card in September 2017 and was receiving support from a welfare officer.

"Given the information that was available to those looking after him at the time, I think the risks were too great for [the safety plan]," Prof Fox told the inquest at Dorset Coroner's Court.

"The individuals checking up on him were not trained in mental health. They were just checking in to see if he was okay and still alive."

Prof Fox said Cpl Tostevin's use of alcohol had also been "played down and ignored" by the people caring for him.

"Perhaps it should have been kept there and kept an eye on and questioned," he said.

The inquest heard earlier that a threat Cpl Tostevin had made to take his own life was not passed down his chain of command.

On Wednesday, a psychiatrist admitted he had "got it wrong" when he assessed Cpl Tostevin's suicide risk.