'My daughter died thirty minutes after receiving a poison in the post - she was failed'

A parcel containing a deadly poison arrived in the afternoon to Hannah Aitken’s supported accommodation - just half an hour later, she had taken the substance that killed her. Her family still do not know how she came to know about the poison.

However, her father, Pete Aitken, says that poor mental health care is to blame for her suicide. He adds: “The mental health system just completely failed her… it was probably the root cause of her death.”

Hannah, 22, was treated in six mental health hospitals in five years, two of which were closed through CQC inspections, her father tells the Mirror. Hannah was treated at the now closed Huntercoombe hospital in Berkshire, where a 14-year-old Ruth Szymankiewicz took her life in 2022, after she was left unsupervised by a hospital worker with a fake ID.

READ MORE: She took poison and rushed to hospital - doctors told her it could 'go either way'

READ MORE: ‘My son live blogged his suicide then I bought the poison he used - it needs to be banned’

Pete has joined forces with The Mirror and Molly Rose Foundation to call on the Government to act now to reclassify the poison that took Hannah's life in September 2023. The Mirror have taken the editorial decision not to name the poison.

The Molly Rose Foundation is a suicide prevention charity, set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who died in 2017 after being exposed to harmful online content. Last month, Molly’s father, Ian called on Keir Starmer to beef up online safety laws, after research by the MRF found that teens who engage with suicide, self-harm and depression posts face being targeted with a "tsunami of harmful content".

'We feel her presence through the butterflies'

Hannah, who was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, loved taking her dog, Milo, on walks and going swimming in the sea. She had an Instagram page for Milo, which had 4,000 followers.

A keen amateur gardener, Hannah loved growing sunflowers and plants that she cultivated with her father. Now, the Aitken family have a “living memorial” in their garden, which is trees and flowers planted in her memory, all draped in ribbons of Hannah’s favourite colour, purple.

“When we see butterflies in the gardens, we now always think of Hannah. We feel her presence through the butterflies,” Pete says. Two butterflies appear as Pete speaks to The Mirror.

Watch campaign documentary Buy to Die on The Mirror's Youtube channel.

Poison parcel

The day that Hannah passed was a normal day, she had taken her dog, Milo, out for a walk and was watching TV in her supported accommodation. Only on this day, she also received a package with a deadly poison. Within half an hour, she had taken it. The 22-year-old from Guildford, Surrey, died before paramedics were able to save her.

She called out to her carers for help, but despite the quick arrival of paramedics, she passed away. “I got a phone call at work about lunchtime,” he says they told him. “Hannah has collapsed… The paramedics are here and they're trying to get to the hospital.”

Then came the knock at the door that every parents fears. “We knew instantly that it was the police telling us that she'd passed.”

'She had lost all hope'

After a catalogue of failings in mental health and autism treatment, her father says that the care she received “completely invalidated her feelings”.

This helplessness in having nowhere to turn for help from medical institutions is referred in her suicide note. Pete adds: “She said that there was no care out there that could help her. She'd lost all hope.”

Pete says reading Hannah’s pages-long last letter was like opening Pandora's box. “Once you've opened it, you will never forget its contents,” he explains.

Hannah had struggled with her mental health previously, and tried to take her own life before. “The year before she passed, she was having difficulties and she went to a bridge over the M25 and fortunately police got to her and persuaded her to come off the bridge," Pete says.

Pete explains that, the day after her suicide attempt, Hannah was struggling with her mental health and spoke with her care coordinator, who insisted she "take a warm bath, get some sunshine, have a hot cup of tea or a warm drink."

Hannah didn't like baths, she always took a shower. She didn't like the hot weather, she preferred cold, wet weather and she didn't drink hot drinks. It was a verbal phone call, she didn't come out to assess Hannah's risk and she then went to the same bridge over the M25 and she jumped,” the Surrey father adds.

Testament to her selfless care for others, Pete says that after this attempt to end her life, she survived only to find out that her friend had made a suicide attempt too. Despite being in recovery herself, Hannah made sure that she was able to go to her friend, to comfort and support them.

“The amazing thing was Hannah could help lots of people. She couldn't help herself but she could help lots of people… you think, you've suffered so much. And yet you're prepared to give to the people,” he tells The Mirror.

'This was a tragic loss of a young life'

The Online Safety Act, which was brought into effect in 2023, is a regulatory framework that seeks to ban illegal and harmful content and activity online. Under these powers, OFCOM has been investigating a pro-suicide site since April 2025, yet it remains active and accessible to UK citizens.

To this day, her family do not know whether she was on the pro-suicide forum, as the police were unable to download data from her most recent device. Pete says that not knowing has “added to the trauma.” He adds: “We don't know how Hannah found out about this poison.”

A spokesperson for Surrey Police said: “This was a tragic loss of a young life and our thoughts have been with Hannah’s family throughout this difficult time. Based on the evidence found, there was nothing to suggest any third-party involvement in her death in 2023 and therefore the investigation was led by the Surrey Coroner.

“As part of our enquiries, four electronic devices recovered from Hannah’s address were examined. Information provided from two of them was provided to the Coroner. No evidence of third-party involvement was found.

"Unfortunately, one remaining device was inaccessible and the other appears to have been broken for some time prior to Hannah’s death. As a result, gaining access to these would be extremely difficult. Having consulted with the Coroner, they directed not to attempt further examination.”

But this leaves Hannah’s families with more questions: how did their kind and loving daughter come to know about this poison?

The family are aware that Hannah purchased the poison that took the lives of at least 99 others in the UK. She ordered the drug from a seller in Malaysia, but how she came to know about this poison remains a mystery.

For more stories like this subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Weekly Gulp, for a curated roundup of trending stories, poignant interviews, and viral lifestyle picks from The Mirror's Audience U35 team delivered straight to your inbox.

Hannah's inquest was held on November 24, 2024. Assistant Coroner for Surrey, Anna Loxton, raised concerns that the use of the poison for self-harm was increasing.

In the Prevention of Future Deaths Report for Hannah Aitken, Loxton writes that the lack of restrictions on the poison, saying: "The quantities and purity in which [the poison] are sold do not appear to be those required for their legitimate use."

'Action needs to be taken'

Pete is now calling on the Government to take this issue seriously, saying that the "sloping of shoulders has allowed this issue to continue without any effective action… Action needs to be taken.”

There is an antidote to the poison Hannah ingested, however, through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to ambulance services and hospitals in the UK, Pete has found that this is not readily available in ambulance services.

“Paramedics, the ambulance services, they have no training in recognizing the symptoms [of the poisoning]... None of them [ambulances] have the availability or the access to the antidote," he tells us.

The Mirror has seen these FOIs and confirms that the vast majority of ambulance services across the United Kingdom do not carry the antidote.

In a plea to others who may be considering this poison, Hannah’s father Pete Aitken says: “If you're seeking this poison out, please remember that you are loved, even though you may not necessarily appreciate that. Please try and think about the effect that it has on the people around you, your loved ones, your parents, your friends, and the loss that your passing will leave in their lives.”

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org , visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you!