Fight for justice over RAF death
Grieving couple to confront minister
An East Kilbride couple have stepped up their fight for justice for their late son.
Charles and Susan Fleeting’s 24-yearold son Robert, an RAF firefighter, was found hanged in his room at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, in September 2011.
A coroner ruled the young Greenhills man, a former pupil of Ballerup High, took his own life. But his parents, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders veteran Charles, 54, and Susan, 56, suspected foul play and launched a petition calling for inquests into all non-combat deaths on a military base to be heard by a jury.
In England and Wales a coroner conducts an inquest into the death of military personnel.
After a long and difficult battle to have their voices heard, the couple have been given a glimmer of hope after securing a meeting with the justice minister for coroners Phillip Lee, with the help of East Kilbride MP Lisa Cameron.
And the date of the meeting, March 28, is particularly poignant for the Fleetings as would have been Robert’s 30th birthday.
Susan said: “The meeting is to hopefully update the outdated Coroners and Justice Act and give our military personnel the same inquests as any other government body.
“It’s taken nearly two years to secure a meeting with someone from the justice department as we’ve been passed about from pillar to post within Westminster but with the sheer determination of Dr Cameron we have managed to pin someone down.”
She went on: “We want non-combat deaths on a military base to receive the same justice as anyone who dies on government property: inquest with a jury.
“This would ensure that the armed forces have all the measures in place to safeguard our troops.”
As reported in the News, a coroner ruled that Senior Aircraftsman Robert, who was engaged to be married, took his own life after having sex with another man.
However, his parents believe he was murdered after an initiation ceremony went wrong.
Despite their crusade gaining the support of nearly 20,000 people worldwide on their ‘Justice for Robert’ Facebook page, five years on they are still desperately searching for answers.
“There should be full openness and transparency when we lose a child within the military system,” said Susan.
“These young men and women signed up and were willing to die for this country but this country cannot award them the same common decency in death as it awards other government bodies.
“This system has to be updated and our armed forces have to come under the same scrutiny as any other public body when someone dies under their care.
“As a law-abiding citizen this doesn’t just appal me, it frightens me. We’ve put a lot of research into this and found failings which highlight the need for change.
“Too many families walk away feeling let down.
“If we can make one small change and stop another family from going through what we’ve had to go through the last five years then losing Robert won’t seem so pointless.”
The Fleetings thanked everyone who has supported the Justice for Robert campaign and shared their campaign video, which has over 10,000 views on Facebook.