Chloe Moffat's dad makes devastating admission after 26-year-old died by suicide following work disciplinary
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide, which some readers may find distressing.
The father of a 26-year-old who took her own life after facing disciplinary measures while working at the Treasury has slammed the department for failing to take responsibility for the tragedy.
A coroner ruled earlier this month that the Treasury had 'materially contributed' to the death of personal assistant Chloe Moffat, who died by suicide on 20 May 2025, a day after being called into an informal meeting with managers.
During the meeting, Moffat - who'd worked as a personal assistant for three years - was informed that an anonymous complaint had been filed about her by a colleague, alleging she'd shared confidential information about staff that she'd had access to in her position.
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Despite denying the accusations, friends and family told Surrey Coroners Court that the confrontation drove a 'devastated' Moffat to 'distress', leading her to believe she was set to lose her job.
The head of global issues at the Treasury - who was leading the investigation into her alleged misconduct - admitted to not giving Moffat notice of the meeting before the day of, claiming she 'did not want Chloe to worry about it'.
They also confessed to denying Moffat's request for access to a third party in the meeting, and admitting to failing to reassure her that her job was safe, despite it being unlikely that she'd be dismissed.
Lastly, they recalled telling Moffat, who asked during the discussion whether she'd likely lose her job, that she couldn't predict the outcome of the investigation, even though the PA had been up for a promotion and had even been in line for a bonus for her work at that time.
The Coroner told the court they were 'satisfied that the shock and distress of the allegations and thinking she was going to lose her job contributed to her state of mind'.
Despite the UK Government department vowing to review its disciplinary process - insisting its directors will 'learn the lessons from this tragedy' - Chloe's father, David Moffat, has said the Treasury's apparent lack of support 'beggars belief'.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, David described his loss as 'devastating', recalling the 1-1 his daughter endured with her superiors.
"Chloe's first comment was, 'Oh, this must be serious, there's two of you here'," he began. "So that's the first time that she was aware of anything [that] might be a to-do. And then they worked through and put several allegations to her that she'd shared confidential information."
He reminded listeners that Moffat was locked out of her emails immediately after the meeting.
"That was all part of the shock and awe of it all for Chloe," David added, slamming the department's lack of 'any duty of care'.
"There was no safeguarding, there was no support during or after that meeting, from what we've seen and what we've read", he continued. "It beggars belief that an organisation that is front and central in our government cannot get it right."
Asked if he feels the Treasury had taken responsibility for his daughter's death, David responded, 'Not yet'.
He recalled a recent meeting he and his wife, Anne, had with the Treasury's permanent secretary, James Bowler, however, insisting that, despite everything, their family want to achieve 'something positive' from the 'unbearable loss that we're suffering'
A spokesperson for the Treasury previously told Tyla their team will 'continue to mourn Chloe's passing as a colleague and friend'.
"Our thoughts remain with her family and friends," they added. "We take the coroner’s concerns extremely seriously and recognise it is important to act quickly. We are now considering the findings carefully.
"We have introduced improvements to guidance, support and wellbeing arrangements but recognise we must continue to take action to prevent this happening again."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Rhianna Benson