Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s brother drowned in hotel room after consuming alcohol and painkillers
Mystery still surrounds why Tariq Javid had booked into the luxury country hotel just minutes from his home
THE eldest brother of Home Secretary Sajid Javid was found drowned in a five-star hotel room after taking codeine and alcohol, a coroner heard today.
Mystery still surrounds why Tariq Javid had booked into the luxury country hotel just minutes from his home but a coroner who opened an inquest said that he had suffered ";an unnatural death."
The body of the 52-year-old was found in his room at the South Lodge Hotel on July 29 and it was taken to a nearby hospital mortuary where a post mortem examination showed that he died from a combination of drowning, ethanol and Codeine toxicity and serious heart disease.
Retail businessman Tariq Javid was the eldest of five brothers who include the current Home Secretary, as well as one who is a police officer, another a financial advisor and one who is a multi-millionaire.
West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield opened an inquiry into his death at Crawley today and ordered a full inquest to be carried out next year.
She heard that Tariq's drowned body was found in a room at the South Lodge Hotel in Lower Beeding, Horsham, West Sussex, on July 29. Apart from the drowning and Codeine and alcohol toxicity, he had also been suffering from coronary artery atherosclerosis and idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy.
He was identified by his brother Basit.
No details of how he drowned or why he was staying at the hotel just a few miles away from this home in Brighton Road, Horsham, west Sussex, were given at the inquest and a full inquest hearing will take place early next year and will be overseen by West Sussex senior coroner Ms Schofield.
She said: “In respect of the evidence heard this morning I feel it is an unnatural death and the matter needs to proceed to an inquest formally.”
Announcing the death last month, the Home Secretary's official spokesman said: “I am very sad to confirm that Sajid lost his eldest brother Tariq this week, who will be sorely missed by the whole family.
“He would like to extend his thanks to the many people sending their condolences and good wishes. He would also ask that his privacy and that of his family, be respected at this time of grief.”
Tariq followed in his father’s footsteps, as he had owned a clothes shop in Bristol after working as a bus driver.
Abdul-Ghani Javid’s business was called Scallywags, and was in the middle of a notoriously crime-ridden part of the city. Mr Javid Senior arrived in England with the boys' mother Zubaida with only £1 to his name in 1961.
The couple settled in Rochdale but later moved to Bristol to pursue their retail business.
Despite the five siblings' difficult start in life, all five brothers have gone on to greatness in their respective fields of business, politics and public sector roles.
Sajid Javid was the first non-white person to hold one of Britain's offices of state.
Meanwhile his brother Basit is a senior police officer, Khalis is a financial adviser and Atif is a multimillionaire property tycoon.
The five star luxury hotel where he died is set deep in the Sussex countryside and markets itself as an exclusive choice for a romantic getaway or special occasion.
The hotel hosted the G-20 London Summit in 2009, where then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling and the other world finance ministers and central bank governors from the European Union stayed in several of its 89-Jacobean style rooms.
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Sir Winston Churchill was also a regular guest and close friend of its owners, with his former favourite room now a £530-a night luxury suite. The corridor through to the Sussex Wing from the Billiard Bar now marks the place where a lift used to take him up to the Elizabeth Le Bay room.
For between £575 and £639 per night, guests can stay in the 'Hot Tub Suite' - rooms equipped with private hot tub and a balcony with a garden view over its 89-acre grounds.
The hotel boasts "every single room is individually styled and designed so that no two are the same... We provide flawless attention to detail and homely charm in bucket loads as well as the most spectacular views over the South Downs."