BBC Reporter Michael Mosley died of natural causes, police say
An initial post-mortem examination on the body of Dr Michael Mosley has concluded he died of natural causes, the BBC has been told.
The TV presenter’s remains were found in a rocky area on the Greek island of Symi on Sunday – four days after he went missing.
Greek police spokeswoman Konstantia Dimoglidou told the BBC that the initial post-mortem found no injuries on his body that could have caused his death.
Dr Mosley’s time of death was around 16:00 (14:00BST) on Wednesday, the day he went missing.
Ms Dimoglidou said the initial conclusion that Dr Mosley died of natural causes was based on the position his body was found in, as well as a lack of injuries.
A toxicology report and a histology report have now been ordered.
The BBC has been told that CCTV footage appears to show Dr Mosley disappear from view as he makes his way down a hillside close to where his body was later found.
Footage taken close to the Agia Marina beach bar, which the BBC has been told about but not seen, is said to show what appear to be Dr Mosley’s final moments, as he makes his way down a slope before disappearing behind a wall.
The 67-year-old father-of-four was reported missing after he left Agios Nikolaos beach to set off on a walk at about 13:30 local time (11:30 BST) on Wednesday.
Greek authorities conducted an extensive search for Dr Mosley amid high temperatures.
A bar manager found his body after the island’s mayor “saw something” by the fence of the bar and alerted staff, PA news agency reported.
A police source told BBC News he had been dead “for a number of days”.
Dr Mosley’s wife, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, on Sunday said her family was “taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it”.
“He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team,” Dr Bailey Mosley said in a statement.
She also paid tribute to her “wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant” husband after the “devastating” news his body had been found.
“We had an incredibly lucky life together,” Dr Bailey Mosley said.
“We loved each other very much and were so happy together.”
The former deputy leader of the Labour Party, Lord Tom Watson, was among those to pay fresh tributes to Dr Mosley on Monday.
“He certainly changed my life. He gave me the idea that I wasn’t broken,” Mr Watson, who said in 2018 that he had “reversed” his type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise, told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Dr Mosley studied medicine in London and qualified as a doctor, and for the last two decades was working as a presenter, documentary maker, journalist and author.
He was known for his TV programmes including Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, and BBC Radio 4’s Just One Thing podcast. He also wrote a column for the Daily Mail.
Mr Mosley had been an advocate for intermittent fasting diets, including through the 5:2 diet and The Fast 800 diet.
Dr Saleyha Ahsan, who co-presented Trust Me, I’m a Doctor with Dr Mosley, told the BBC’s Breakfast programme she was initially “terrified” to take on the role but that he “put me at ease almost immediately”.
She added: “That really personable, accessible character [that] comes across on television, that’s exactly how he was in real life.
“He did incredible things for medicine and for public health in a way that I think few others have.”
Lord Watson recalled the moment he first read a book by Dr Mosley, saying it was “like a light came on in my life”.
“I just became a real fan of his work and, over the years, he’s helped me maintain that and help millions of others,” he said.
“And that’s what great journalism is: he explained very complex ideas of science in a very simple way.”
Science broadcaster Dr Chris van Tulleken, who also worked with Dr Mosley, said his former colleague had invented “an entire genre of broadcasting” over the course of his career.
He added that Dr Mosley’s work “quietly changed my daily practices”, from brushing his teeth while standing on one leg to sometimes fasting.
“He was giving people tools they could use that everyone could afford,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Calypso Haggett, Dr Mosley’s business partner and chief executive of The Fast 800 weight-loss programme, said in a statement that he was a “shining light for the whole team”.
“I had the great privilege of knowing Michael both professionally and personally. He really, truly was one of a kind and will be terribly missed by everyone,” said Ms Haggett.
“Michael has left an incredible legacy, which I know will live on and energise a continuous movement for better health.”
Downing Street said that Dr Mosley would be known “as an extraordinary broadcaster who used his platform to influence and change the way we think about many public health issues”.
Timeline
Wednesday 1330 local time (11:30 BST) – Dr Michael Mosley leaves his wife Clare on Agios Nikolaos beach and sets off on a walk
1350 – Man carrying umbrella is seen on CCTV in Pedi
1357 – Same man is seen again at Pedi’s marina heading north-east
Thursday 1115 – Police are unable to find the presenter, so they inform Athens and request assistance from the Greek fire department
1400 – Greek fire services, with six firefighters and a drone team, arrive in Symi
1900 – Helicopter deployed to assist search
Friday – Divers join the search in the water around Symi
Saturday 0600 – Firefighters resume search for Dr Mosley
Sunday – Authorities looking for Dr Mosley find a body