A British-Jewish political cartoonist who died after jumping in front of a train, suffered a mental breakdown after his 30-year marriage ended, an inquest heard this week.

Leon Kuhn was killed after jumping in front of a train at London's Finchley Road tube station in December.

Mr Kuhn had suffered at least two mental breakdowns before his death, according to a report in the Ham & High newspaper.

In a statement read out at St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, his brother, Philip, said: “His marriage was difficult as his wife was diagnosed with schizophrenia and that made things hard for both of them."

Mr Kuhn, whose mother Doris came to Britain on the Kindertransport, was a fierce critic of Israel’s military activities and Zionism.

He once said: “Zionism, which is the official ideology of the Israeli state, has been a disaster for both Jews and Arabs because it totally ignores the history of peaceful co-existence.”

He also spoke out “against the occupation of Gaza and the West bank by the Israeli army”.

The London-born cartoonist, who grew up in Golders Green and Hendon and attended the Hampstead-based University College School, worked for left-leaning publications The Morning Star, Socialist Worker, Green Socialist, New Internationalist and The New Statesman.