Deepcut probe will disregard ‘abuse culture’
THE second inquest into the death of a teenage soldier at Deepcut Barracks will not consider whether the Army base had a ‘culture of sexual abuse’, a coroner ruled yesterday.
But the hearing will allow new evidence that suggests Private Cheryl James was ‘ordered to have sex’ by officers before she was found shot dead in November 1995.
The 18-year-old was one of four recruits who died in unexplained shootings that were treated as suicides amid claims of abuse and a cover-up at the Surrey base between 1995 and 2002.
The new inquiry into her death from a shot to the head began yesterday following a ruling by the High Court in 2014 quashing an open verdict recorded at the original hearing in 1995.
Opening the inquest, Coroner Brian Barker, QC, said evidence that Pte James may have been sexually abused at the time of her death fell within the scope of his eight-week inquiry.
But he told Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking that it was not within its scope to consider ‘a wider culture of sexual abuse’ at the barracks, ‘including the sexually inappropriate treatment of female recruits within the chain of command’.
Mr Barker added: ‘This is not a public inquiry into the culture at Deepcut in the mid-90s. This inquest should be a full, frank and fearless investigation into Cheryl’s death, but it does not mean the scope is unlimited.’
However, he said this decision would remain under review ‘as the evidence develops’ during the inquest, which will hear from 100 witnesses.
The i nquest will consider whether a third party was involved in her death and what happened the night before she died. Her body was exhumed in August and bullet fragments were removed.
Lawyers from the human rights organisation Liberty, which is representing the family, had asked for the scope of the heari ng to be widened to take account of fresh evidence from at least ten witnesses who allege there was a culture of sexual exploitation at the barracks.
They say it i ndicates that ‘prostitution and pimping’ were carried out at the barracks.
Pte James, from Llangollen in North Wales, was going through her initial training when she was f ound with a bullet wound between her right eye and the bridge of her nose.
Privates Sean Benton, 20, James Collinson, 17, and Geoff Gray, 17, also died from gunshot wounds at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002.
Private Collinson, from Perth, had been on guard duty on the night of March 23, 2002, when he was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
His mother, Yvonne Heath has continued to campaign for a public inquiry into his death.
Pte James’s family have fought for 20 years to find out what happened to her.
Speaking ahead of the inquest, her father Des, 66, said: ‘ The bottom line is a culture was created at the camp which contributed to the death of four people.
‘We have to get to the bottom of what happened. I want justice for all four of them.’
The hearing was adjourned until Thursday to consider scientific and forensic reports.
‘I want justice for all four of them’