Suicide man could no longer bear 'immoral' council decisions

A PLYMOUTH City Council worker who said he could no longer bear to be involved in "immoral" council decisions threw himself off the Tamar Bridge, an inquest heard.

Julian Grail, aged 56, from Saltash, was an officer working in the council chief executive's office before he plunged to his death in April this year. In his suicide note that he left for his wife, Mr Grail wrote that he "just couldn't contemplate the thought of another day in that forlorn place", the inquest heard.

Andrew Kendall, Tamar bridge supervisor, told the hearing that CCTV footage showed a man walking on to the bridge from the Saltash side shortly after midnight on April 17 and climbing over the railings before jumping. The inquest heard that Mr Grail's widow, Joanne, a headteacher, found a suicide note on the morning of April 17 and at 11.15am the body of Mr Grail was discovered by police on mud flats near the China Fleet Club in Saltash.

The inquest heard that Mr Grail, who once stood for election as an independent candidate for Saltash Town Council and was heavily involved in community work, was seconded to the chief executive's office in early 2006 and was then employed there as a performance and planning officer. Mrs Grail said: "In 2008 Julian began to voice grave concerns about his job." She said that in a long discussion on April 13, Mr Grail told her that: "He was party to actions that were morally wrong."

When asked by Dr Emma Carlyon, Cornwall County Coroner, about the issues her husband faced at work, Mrs Grail said: "He had a very strong sense of fair play and he began to think those principles didn't sit alongside the job he was asked to do.

"He was party to things that he thought were immoral. Sometimes huge amounts of money were involved."

Mrs Grail read the suicide note left by her husband which said: "Please do not take any responsibility for this mess. Take care of these fine children as you always have done. I just can't contemplate the thought of another day in that forlorn place."

Dr Carlyon recorded a verdict of suicide and said: "At the time of his death he was suffering from work-related stresses."

The inquest into Mr Grail's death, held yesterday in Truro, also heard that two grievance procedures had been carried out against him, one of which was upheld and resulted in a written warning.

Mrs Grail told the hearing that her husband worked in social services for over 20 years. She said a disagreement with a female member of staff at Plymouth City Council led to an internal discipline procedure in February 2005. She said that another grievance was brought against Mr Grail in February 2006 but this was not upheld.

In a statement issued by Mrs Grail following the inquest she described her husband as "a person of total integrity, immense decency, utter compassion, enormous sensitivity and uncompromising, unflinching principle."

She said: "Over the last few years he struggled to come to terms with aspects of his professional life that he saw as unjust and unfair."

Nobody from Plymouth City Council attended yesterday's hearing. A spokesman later issued a statement which read: "Julian was a highly valued and respected member of staff whose tragic loss is still deeply felt by his colleagues and the many friends he made here at the council over the years."

The spokesman refused to comment on any suggestions of "immorality" at the council.