Coroner issues report to work and pensions chief, Mel Stride, following inquest into death of man with severe depression

A coroner has written to work and pensions secretary Mel Stride warning that the workings of the benefit system can worsen symptoms of mental illness, after a man killed himself amid fears over his application for universal credit.

Kirsty Gomersal, the area coroner for Cumbria, issued a prevention of future deaths report to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after an inquest into the death of the man, who had been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety.