Inquest hears shocking testimony of Pete Newbon's final moments

He added that it would have been"‘difficult for drivers to identify him as a hazard" due to the poor visibility on the road and Dr Newbon's dark clothing.

Jonathan Leach, a North Yorkshire assistant coroner recorded a verdict of suicide, saying that there was clear evidence of intention from Dr Newbon based on a text message he sent to his daughter before his death.

Dr Newbon was a director of the anti-racism group Labour Against Antisemitism as well as a lecturer at Northumbria University specialising in humanities.

Dr Newbon was a well-known Jewish campaigner against antisemitism.  Eight months before his death, he posted a message on Twitter about children’s author Michael Rosen which was investigated by Northumbria University.

At the time of his death, Dr Newbon's wife, writer, and academic Rachel Hewitt wrote on Twitter: “Pete Newbon was my best friend, my partner-in-crime, my beautiful, kind husband, a brilliant reader & scholar, the best daddy in the world to our three beautiful daughters, and I just don’t know how we’re going to bear his loss. I’m broken into a million unbearably painful pieces,”

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