Britain’s first black fire chief took his own life a week after an investigation was launched into claims he had lied on his CV, an inquest heard.
West Midlands Fire chief Wayne Brown, 54, was found dead at his home in Birmingham on January 24 last year – days after the service received an email calling into question his claim to have a Master of Business Administration degree from London South Bank University.
The inquest heard he left two notes – one naming a man he claimed had been harassing him for years, adding: ‘I can’t do this any more’.
Mr Brown, who had been appointed to the top job in 2023, had been the target of multiple emails, social media posts, Freedom of Information inquiries and formal complaints to the service for two years, many of them relating back to his service with the London Fire Brigade or about his private life.
In the note found after his death, he named Benjamin Walker, a fire training expert who had made multiple complaints about him.
Mr Walker had been facing trial charged with criminal harassment but the case against him was subsequently dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Kitely, who led the investigation into Mr Brown’s claims of harassment, said the ‘constant barrage was getting to him’.
Mr Walker, present at the inquest as an ‘interested person’, said he had ‘raised legitimate concerns through the correct channels’ and said was not behind an anonymous account that had been behind a long-running campaign against Mr Brown.
He said the police had found no evidence that he was.
Satinder Sahota, the fire service’s monitoring officer told the inquest at Birmingham Coroners’ Court on Monday an investigation was launched after the fire service received an email on January 16 about Mr Brown’s qualifications.
He said Mr Brown had referred to to the MBA on his CV before being given £180,000 a-year-job.
Mr Sahota said he contacted Mr Brown on Sunday 21 January, two days before he was found dead.
Mr Sahota told the hearing Mr Brown ‘came across as a proud person and he was quite stoic’ but he had told him he was ‘exhausted, not sleeping well and having racing thoughts.’
He said: ‘I encouraged him to seek support from others and made enquiries about his health more generally.
‘He said things were starting to build up. He felt as though there was pressure on him but he said he was OK.’
Mr Sahota was asked by Coroner Louise Hunt if he had suggested Mr Brown contact his GP.
He said that he had not, and only suggested contacting Occupational Health, something Mr Brown never did.
He said had he lived Mr Brown would have faced suspension while a formal investigation was carried out.
He was asked by Mr Brown’s ex-wife Lisa Brown, why his family was not informed about how he was feeling.
Mr Sahota said: ‘My view at the time was that Wayne was saying he was OK. I urged him to reach out to Occupational Health. I did not think it was appropriate to reach out to you guys.’
He was also asked by the coroner why no formal notes were taken of the various conversations he’d had with Mr Brown before his death.
Mr Sahota explained he had taken his own notes but these were not added to Mr Brown’s file.
The coroner added: ‘This seems odd to me. This was a very serious matter for Wayne and the fire service, and you are not making formal notes.’
By the following day, January 22, the fire service’s media department had started receiving press inquiries about the case.
Mr Sahota said his last conversation with Mr Brown took place the next day, Tuesday 23 and there was ‘nothing in his demeanor to indicate what subsequently happened.’
That evening stories were published in at least one national newspaper.
Detective Inspector Michelle Cordell who was the senior investigator into Mr Brown’s death said the police had received a call at 9.51am on Tuesday 24 January from Mr Brown’s deputy Joanne Bowcock who was concerned for his welfare as he had not arrived for work.
Two officers were sent to his ground floor apartment in Birmingham where they forced their way in and found his body.
Two letters were on the kitchen work surface, one addressed to his family and the other to West Midlands Police in which he named Mr Walker.
The court heard that a post-mortem examination had shown no alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of his death and no underlying disease.
Before the inquest began, a pen portrait of Mr Brown was read out by his son Kai.
Breaking down in tears, he said that his sports-mad father had been an ‘inspiration to many’ with friends in and out of work.
In his tribute, son Kai said his father was born and raised in south-east London and was quickly identified by his teachers as a ‘born leader’. He loved sports and worked hard, first getting a job setting up a fruit and veg stall in a local market and later working in McDonald’s while continuing to study at school.
He decided to join the fire brigade aged 23, and rapidly rose through the ranks. He was also a semi-professional footballer for Welling and Enfield.
‘Wayne worked his way up through the ranks, achieved the first black chief in the fire service in the UK, and was an inspiration to many. Wayne was loved and respected,’ he said.
‘He took a lot of pride in his appearance and loved clothes…he liked to look sharp….Wayne had an excellent work ethic, and only settled for the highest standards possible,’ he said.
‘We will forever be proud of him and he leaves a void in our lives which will never be filled.’
Mr Brown’s partner Nicola White said that he had spent the weekend before his death at home with his family in Essex.
She told the Inquest: ‘On the Friday, which was his birthday, he went to the dentist where he had tooth whitening and paid a deposit for future work which showed he was looking to the future and making plans.
‘He told me that he felt supported by the Fire Service. He was one of the strongest people I know.’
She said that the threat of newspaper reports into the allegations about his CV were a factor when they went on holiday in August.
She added: ‘I believe the newspaper article that came out on the evening of his death was the final straw.’
She said that when they had said their goodbyes on the Sunday evening, they had said ‘I love you’ to one another.
‘He then added, ‘No, I really love you’. I have looked back on that and perhaps that was a sign,’ she said.
After a newspaper article was published about him online on the Tuesday evening she had suggested he drive back to Essex but he told her he had a headache and would come the next morning.
‘I sent him a quote saying that these things are sent to us and would make us stronger.
‘He replied, ‘I love you and my family so much’. He was so strong.’
The inquest continues.