Portsmouth student took own life after plagiarism claim, inquest hears

Alistair Hall, 22, was found dead in his room in student halls on Isambard Brunel Road in Portsmouth

A radiography student took his own life after being accused of plagiarism, an inquest has heard.

Alistair Hall, 22, was found dead in his room, in student halls in Portsmouth, on 27 June 2020.

Although his dissertation was given a mark of zero, Mr Hall's previous grades meant he would still have graduated, the hearing was told.

Recording a verdict of suicide, the coroner described him as "a very special young man".

The inquest heard Mr Hall had been informed a month before his death that his final dissertation would receive a zero mark because it was considered to have plagiarised an example of work provided for his course.

Mr Hall was posthumously awarded a 2.1 degree in diagnostic radiography.

Future employers would also not have been actively informed about the ruling, the Portsmouth hearing was told.

The inquest heard Mr Hall's mother died when he was 18 months old.

'Acute pressures'

Coroner Christopher Wilkinson said he believed the plagiarism accusation had contributed to his personal struggles in "finding his place in the world".

He added: "It appears he had applied himself to his studies. He had ambitions in his life which he was looking to develop...

"In the end, those underlying feelings, which had never left Alistair, came to the fore as well as the more acute pressures of the dissertation.

"While I do not believe that was the sole reason, I can only believe it had an impact on his way of thinking."

In a statement, read at the hearing, his family said: "Alistair was very special to all of us, a miracle IVF baby, so-wanted, and a beautiful gift to us.

"He was a happy boy, bright, kind, gentle and respectful."