Richard Morris (diplomat)

Morris was born on 1 November 1967 in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, to a teaching family. He has a younger sister. He attended Droitwich Spa High School.

Morris was born with a port-wine stain birthmark on the left hand side of his face. He underwent laser surgery in an attempt to remove his birthmark as a young teenager, but the procedure was eventually halted. He became an ambassador for the charity Changing Faces, which helps people who live with visible facial differences.[1]

Morris studied at Aberystwyth University, which included partaking in a one-year scholarship at the University of Illinois in the United States. He received a BA (Hons) degree in English literature. After this, he studied at Aston University where he earned an MBA and underwent contract work for the Touche Ross management consultancy.

Morris married his wife Alison in 1992 and together they had three children, one daughter and two sons. His hobbies included long-distance running,[2] having completed a marathon on Mount Everest in 2019.[3]

Morris entered the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) through an open competition in 1990.

Morris was consul-general in Sydney, and had roles in New York, Mexico City, Bridgetown and Ottawa. He was head of the Pacific department at the FCO from 2013 to 2015.

In October 2015 he was announced as the next British Ambassador to Nepal, to succeed John Rankin in November. He served in this role until 2019, during which time he hosted Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex in the country for his 2016 tour.[4] He was due to become the next British High Commissioner to Fiji in July 2020.

Morris was reported missing on 6 May 2020 after going for a run in Bentley, Hampshire, and not returning home.[5] That day, an appeal for information was issued by Hampshire Police.[6] He was last seen running along Isington Road in Alton at 10:50 in the morning of 6 May.[7]

Initially, police dogs and drones were used to search Alice Holt Forest where Morris was known to enjoy running. As well as this, CCTV footage was examined and door-to-door inquiries were carried out. The search was scaled back on 3 June after more than 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) had been searched. Chief Inspector Alex Reading said he wanted to "reassure the community that there is no evidence of foul play".[8]

On 31 August, a body was found in Alice Holt Forest[9] by a member of the public.[10] His body was formally identified on 16 September.[11] An inquest heard that Morris' cause of death was undetermined after an initial autopsy.[10]