A fresh inquest will take place into the death of Aiden Longmuir, a 20-year-old trans man, after the original inquest was overturned following a legal challenge. Aiden Longmuir took his own life in May 2025, aged 20. He had been living as male since he was 12 and had been on the waiting list at the Tavistock gender identity clinic since 2021. He also appeared as male across all his medical and financial records.
Original Inquest Ruling Overturned
At an inquest in October 2025, the assistant coroner disregarded his family's wishes and recorded him as female. The coroner referenced the Supreme Court decision on the definition of sex under the Equality Act, stating she determined that "biologically the body was that of a female." However, the Supreme Court ruling made no mention of how sex should be classified on death certificates. Guidance published by the chief coroner in June 2025 states that "if after making enquiries a coroner concludes a person has chosen to present as male, then the coroner can regard them as male."
Aiden's family turned to the Good Law Project for assistance, which funded solicitors to prepare a legal challenge to the ruling. Letters were also sent to the local council – which holds responsibility for the coroner's court – outlining the law surrounding the registration of deaths, arguing that the decision could be in breach of Aiden's right to a private life, and highlighting other concerns about the inquest that could render it unlawful. The council agreed to quash the inquest and arrange a fresh hearing with a different coroner. A coroner has now consented to reverse an earlier ruling and register Aiden as male on his death certificate.
Pre-Inquest Review and Scope Expansion
At a pre-inquest review earlier this month, the coroner cited the chief coroner's guidance and "Aiden's wishes in life," confirming that "the record of Inquest will record name and surname as Aiden Longmuir, and sex as male, noting this was his chosen sex from a young age until his death." The coroner has also broadened the scope of the inquest. She has requested that the Tavistock clinic disclose evidence regarding Aiden's referral and the support he received while awaiting his first appointment. She will further examine whether a failure to transfer Aiden from the child to the adult waiting list at the age of 18 may have caused additional delays in his treatment, along with any impact this had on Aiden's mental wellbeing and access to testosterone.
Family and Legal Response
Aiden's mother Willow said: "No family should have to experience the trauma and indignity that we have been through. We feel we have been deeply let down by the coronial process where matters we consider essential to understanding why Aiden is no longer with us were ignored. All we wanted was for Aiden to be treated with respect and for the circumstances of his death to be properly investigated. We hope that this can finally happen with a fresh inquest."
For Cat Knight, deputy head of legal at Good Law Project, the case demonstrates that "with legal representation and the platforming of trans rights, the wishes of trans people can be respected in death as they were in life." "But a family shouldn't have to go through the trauma of an inquest twice," Knight said. "The family quoted the correct guidance at the first inquest back in October and the coroner simply chose not to follow it."
Support Resources
If you have been affected by this story, contact Mindline Trans+'s emotional and mental health support helpline for anyone identifying as trans, non-binary, gender variant, and their families, friends, colleagues and carers. Their phone line is open Mondays and Fridays, 8pm to midnight. Ring 0300 330 5468. 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.
