Andrew Kenward

Ms Anna Loxton, HM Assistant Coroner for Surrey

Andrew Nathan Paul Kenward died on 24 th October 2022, aged 30. His inquest was opened on 2 nd May 2023.  A summary inquest took place on 17 th June 2025. I recorded a conclusion of Suicide. I found the medical cause of death to be: 1a. [REDACTED] Toxicity

Early on the morning of 24 th October 2022, Andrew Kenward was found deceased in his car parked on a road in Sunbury on Thames, Surrey, from an  overdose  of  a  poisonous  substance,  namely [REDACTED].  Mr Kenward had previously expressed an intention to end his life to a friend and an undated note was found in his bedroom drawer expressing his regret and love for his Family, but that he felt unable to continue living. Two packets of [REDACTED] were  also  found  in  Mr  Kenward’s bedroom, both stated to contain 50g [REDACTED]. One of these was sealed  and  weighed  51.45g.  The  second  was  resealable  and  weighed 49.48g. The states purity was “99.999% pure”. The source of these packets remains under Police investigation.

A lethal dose of [REDACTED] can be as small as 1g. Mr Kenward was able to procure a total of 1kg of [REDACTED] at 99.999% purity. Coroners including myself have previously raised in Prevention of  Future Death reports that there is no central monitoring system which is able to record incidents of sodium nitrite poisoning, although the use of  sodium nitrite for self-harm is increasing. [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] are reportable substances under the Poisons Act 1972. The only obligation under this legislation is that  domestic sellers must report reasonable grounds for believing  transactions are suspicious. Whilst the source of this particular [REDACTED] is not currently known, there are no restrictions on the import of [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] from abroad. Whilst these substances have legitimate uses, including meat preservation, there does not appear to have been consideration as to  whether the purity can be diluted, or any other measures taken, to reduce the risk posed by the quantities in which these substances are currently  sold, against the risk to life that they can pose. The MATTERS OF CONCERN are: [REDACTED] can  be  purchased  domestically  with  no restrictions save a duty on sellers to report suspicious transactions; [REDACTED] can be purchased from abroad and imported to Great Britain with no restrictions; [REDACTED] is sold at levels of purity (99%) and in quantities which represent significant risk to life (up to 1000 fatal doses for 1kg sale), whether by self-harm or terrorist use; The quantities and purity in which [REDACTED] are sold do not appear to be those required for their legitimate use, for example in meat preservation; It does not appear there is any   consideration of regulating/monitoring the use of [REDACTED] outside the limited provisions of the Poisons Act 1972, and it is not clear which Government department would be responsible for this. Consideration should be given as to whether any steps can be taken to address the above concerns.

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe that the people listed in paragraph one above have the power to take such action.