A millionaire’s attempt to bring a private prosecution of three men he held responsible for his son’s death on Everest has been thrown out.

Michael Matthews, who at 22 was the youngest Briton to summit the world’s highest peak in 1999, was lost on the descent. His body has never been found. His father David brought the case against Jonathan Tinker, Henry Todd and Michael Smith of Out There Trekking Ltd, but Judge Jeremy Rivlin dismissed the case at Southwark Crown Court, saying the ‘law should not inhibit adventure’.

The company now trades as Alpine Mountaineering Ltd.

City trader Michael, of Fulham, had paid £21,000 to the company for the summit attempt. The judge added that Smith had risked his own life on the mountain by staying at the scene.

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