A decorated British Army officer who devoted his retirement to helping troops serving on the frontline shot himself after allegedly feeling ‘ harassed ’ by a former aide to Margaret Thatcher , The Mail on Sunday can reveal . Brigadier David Martin , 57 , ended his life after receiving phone calls and a ‘ harassing voicemail ’ over a £300,000 dispute involving his military charity . Brig Martin was a director and trustee of UK4U Thanks , a charity founded in 2005 which works with the Ministry of Defence ( MoD ) to deliver Christmas food parcels to troops in war zones . Diane Martin - pictured with son Will , centre , and her late husband David - says the Brigadier felt he would be ‘ the sacrificial lamb ’ in a row between UK4U and a businessman who PR man Hugh Colver was representing . In a letter to friends and family breaking the news , his widow said the brigadier was left agitated after speaking to PR man Hugh Colver earlier this month , saying he felt he would be ‘ the sacrificial lamb ’ in a row between UK4U and a businessman who Mr Colver was representing . In the letter , which was distributed on social media , devastated Diane Martin , 55 , said : ‘ David received an email on Sunday evening [ March 1 ] which made him very agitated , and in his letter to me he said that the final straw was a harassing voicemail during the day from the same man . ‘ It all concerned the UK4U Christmas box charity for which he was the chairman of trustees . The founding businessman felt that he had never been properly recompensed for his initial ( very substantial ) outlay – despite formal arbitration and subsequent revisiting of the arbitration by legal teams . ‘ A high-powered PR man started to harass David for some sort of out-of-court settlement . Neither the charity nor the MoD could legally ‘ pay off ’ a claim that was unsubstantiated , so he concluded ( again in his letter ) that he would be the sacrificial lamb that would have to be found ‘ guilty ’ in order that the claims could be settled . ‘ Everyone knew that he would have done nothing wrong but he felt powerless to challenge the allegations and didn ’ t have the resilience or energy to go through such a potentially traumatic period. ’ Just hours after speaking to Mr Colver , a former director of communications for the Conservative Party , Brig Martin wrote a suicide note and killed himself in the grounds of his Cotswolds family home near Avening in Gloucestershire . 'Brought in to mediate ' : Hugh Colver said he was 'deeply saddened ' by Brig Martin 's death . When questioned by The Mail on Sunday , Mr Colver confirmed he had attempted to persuade Brig Martin to negotiate with businessman Stephen Briggs , who in 2005 provided UK4U with hundreds of thousands of pounds of start-up cash . When the charity ’ s trustees refused to pay back Mr Briggs from UK4U funds , he started legal action . According to the charity ’ s 2008 annual report , an arbitrator found the businessman was owed funds . The report adds that UK4U accepted the award but that Mr Brigg ’ s company ‘ claimed further amounts ’ . Mr Colver , from Westbury , Wiltshire , said : ‘ As far as I know Brigadier Martin and I did not know each other previously but he was aware of who I was and my background . I was brought in to mediate . ‘ Our conversations were very reasonable and I got the impression he felt I was genuinely trying to help . He even thanked me for my efforts . He was surprised that the issues were still around , he thought it was all sorted by the arbitration and I said , well , unfortunately , it remains a dispute . The way the conclusion was arrived at is regarded , by some people , as invalid . The dispute is over several hundred thousand pounds and is very complicated. ’ A friend of Brig Martin claimed that Mr Colver adopted an ‘ icy tone ’ in their conversations , but the PR man insisted : ‘ I absolutely refute any suggestion that I was threatening and I was deeply saddened to learn of his death , this is tragic , ghastly. ’ When approached by The Mail on Sunday , Mr Briggs said : ‘ It is a very difficult situation and we are very saddened by the news . Hugh Colver is our mediator and he knows the true side of the story and I would listen very carefully to him. ’ Brig Martin was made a Commander of the British Empire ( CBE ) during a glittering military career . His funeral was held yesterday . For confidential support , contact the Samaritans on 08457 909090 ( the helpline is open 24 hours a day , 365 days a year ) or visit the website .
Brigadier ##rig Martin , 57 , ended his life after allegedly feeling ' harassed ' Brig Martin was a director and trustee of military charity UK4U Thanks . Had been involved in a £ ##500 dispute with the charity . he claims he was left agitated after speaking to former Thatcher aide . Hugh ##gins was representing a businessman who felt he had not been responsible for his initial money put into the charity UK4U Thanks .