A Moray father fears he will never learn exactly what happened to his son after an inquest concluded his death was due to natural causes – but has vowed to continue pushing for answers.
Ramsay Urquhart, who grew up in Inverness before moving to Keith, was found dead in his London flat in April 2019.
Concerns had been raised by the family of the 34-year-old after they had not heard from him in several days.
Family’s belief that ‘something else happened’
His father Murdo, who is a retired businessman and college worker, has always harboured suspicions that some form of foul play may have been involved.
Those doubts heightened when he learned police had attended his son’s home four days before his death amid reports of threatening phone calls from a mysterious source.
The family also did not have the opportunity to identify Ramsay’s body.
An inquest held in Sunderland, which was moved from London at the request of the Urquhart family after relations with officials in the capital broke down, has now concluded Ramsay’s death was due to “natural causes”.
However, the findings have not provided any comfort to Mr Urquhart who believes there are still unanswered questions.
He said: “Something else happened down there, I just know it, but I don’t think we will ever find out exactly what happened.
“There were too many missed opportunities. Had his body not been left sitting in a morgue for days before a post-mortem they may have got different results – it should have been done immediately.
“I’m going to keep knocking against the wall, I won’t give up. I’ll keep knocking until something cracks.
“There should be another inquiry.”
Cause of death was initially ruled ‘unascertained’
Ramsay had moved to London just weeks before his death after teaching English overseas.
Previously he had stood as a Ukip candidate for election to Moray Council in an Elgin by-election in 2014.
A post-mortem carried out on Ramsay’s body, which was found wrapped in a duvet in his bedroom, eight days after he was found had ruled the cause of death was “unascertained”.
The inquest found he was likely to have died on April 15, 2019, before police attended at the request of his family in the early hours of April 18.
In the immediate aftermath of the teacher’s death, police told Ramsay’s family it was likely he had died from complications from his diabetes – a suggestion rejected by his father.
Mr Urquhart said: “If he had suffered a hypo he would have been thrashing about trying to get help, not wrapped up in a duvet. It doesn’t explain the blood or bruises either.”
Investigations probe circumstances
An investigation launched by the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) in the aftermath of Ramsay’s death to review the Metropolitan Police’s actions concluded there was no case to answer for alleged misconduct for officers on the night his body was found.
However, it did recommend further management training for four officers.
The IOPC further considered an appeal from the Urquhart family, submitted in September last year, to review the decision and decided a “sufficient investigation” had taken place – but concluded communication and guidance with the family had been poor surrounding the request for a second post-mortem to be done.
Sal Naseem, the IOPC’s regional director for London, said: “My condolences are with Ramsay Urquhart’s father, wife, family and friends. All sudden and unexpected deaths are tragic, I can only imagine the heartbreak and grief felt by Ramsay’s loved ones.
“The circumstances surrounding police contact with Ramsay prior to his death, and contact with his father after Ramsay had died, were thoroughly examined by our independent investigators.
“We concluded the officers and staff involved had not breached the standards of professional behaviour but would benefit from receiving management advice.
“Now the coronial process has concluded we will look to publish a summary of our findings in due course.”
