Civil servant killed himself under Tube train weeks before marriage

Adam Rothapel, 32, a secretary at the Ministry of Justice who worked for MP Bridget Prentice, walked fiancée Samantha Baden to her station before stepping on to the track at Finchley Road 10 minutes later.

Mr Rothapel died at 8.30am on 26 May, the day after a bank holiday when he had discussed wedding plans with Ms Baden. The couple were engaged to be married this month.

Mr Rothapel, from Finchley Road, who suffered from Crohn's Disease, had been signed off work for several months after suffering a downturn in his long battle with mental illness.

He had seen psychologists and tried different anti-depressants.

Ms Baden told St Pancras coroner's court: "He felt very low - a mixture of depression and anxiety.

"He was very frustrated all the way through his treatment. He was at crisis point. He could not take part in life really, he was frequently overwhelmed by everything.

"He would say he was in a lot of pain and wanted the pain to end but the only time he ever talked to me specifically about suicidal thoughts was the Saturday before he died."

Mr Rothapel was deemed "not actively suicidal" the day before by a doctor who heard he had visited a station thinking about killing himself, the inquest heard.

He was referred to Dr Gregory Battle after his mother made a call to NHS Direct. Dr Battle said he spoke to Mr Rothapel and his mother on the phone for about 35 minutes.

Dr Battle said: "While I felt he was suffering from a serious depressive illness my assessment was that he had some fleeting suicidal thoughts but was not actively suicidal. He had no intention to kill himself at that time."

Dr Battle said he advised Mr Rothapel's mother to contact his psychotherapist.

The hearing continues.