-Caveat Lector- http://thescotsman.co.uk/print.cfm?id=1205492002&referringtemplate=http%3A%2F% 2Fthescotsman%2Eco%2Euk%2Fuk%2Ecfm&referringquerystring=id%3D1205492002
Wed 30 Oct 2002 Deepcut deaths haunting MoD Alison Hardie AFTER Private James Collinson died, his bereaved family claimed the top brass of the Royal Logistics Corps treated him like "just a number". Trouble is, new evidence unveiled yesterday revealed the 17-year-old was one of nearly 200 "numbers" whose deaths are now coming back to haunt the Ministry of Defence. An investigation into mysterious deaths of personnel in the armed services, many of them barely out of school, has uncovered a series of shocking statistics that paint a picture of neglect and bullying in some of Britain’s most famous regiments. At the heart of the scandal is a series of unexplained deaths - more than one a month for 12 years - caused by firearms incidents. The Ministry of Defence has been unwilling, or unable, to shed light on why so many young recruits are dying under its care on bases throughout Britain. Families, incidentally, suspect that the true figures are much higher. This apparent intransigence has enraged hundreds of bereaved families, more and more of whom are coming forward to claim the deaths of their young sons and daughters could have been avoided. Worse still, there are suggestions in many cases that the deaths were suspicious. Linda and Brian Robertson, from Perth, told how their son, Richard, died during a night shoot at Catterick barracks in North Yorkshire. They said: "It sickens us to think of all the young lives lost in peacetime during training." The couple claimed there had been 19 deaths at Catterick since 1995. They believed that the figure was "only the tip of the iceberg". The Robertsons and Yvonne and Jim Collinson, also from Perth, joined other bereaved families to press their case for inquiries into the deaths at the House of Commons yesterday. Their campaign was having results. John Cooper, their barrister, said: "In just one morning, after talking about this on the radio, dozens more families have been in touch to say their children had also died in suspicious circumstances on Army bases. This is an issue that will not go away until we are given full disclosure by the MoD." Until they arrive at that point, the Collinsons must live with the thought that their son’s death was written-off as an all too common military suicide. Pte James Collinson was one of four young Army recruits to have been found to have been found shot dead while on night sentry duty at the Deepcut barracks in Surrey since 1995. The deaths were initially treated peremptorily as suicides. But Deepcut has subsequently become a by-word for Army intransigence. Pte Collinson’s parents were told their son’s death in March was an open and shut case. Mr Collinson, 40, described yesterday how his tentative inquiries to Deepcut about his son’s fatal shooting were dismissed out of hand. He said: "When I phoned to ask how the investigation was gong into James’s death three days after he died, I was basically told: ‘There was one body, one gun - draw your own conclusions’. He was just a number, a number that no longer existed and the Army were no longer interested." Mr Collinson could scarcely believe his son had taken his own life. The day before he had chatted excitedly with his mother about a holiday he planned to Spain. The couple refused to accept the Army’s verdict and took the heartbreaking decision to have the teenager’s body exhumed so an independent post-mortem examination could be carried out. Mr Collinson said yesterday: "It is bad enough to hold a funeral for your son, but to have to go through it a second time because they [the Army] did not do their job properly just about sums up our agony." At least three other young soldiers died at Deepcut in circumstances that were at the very least suspicious, but all were again written-off by the Army as suicide. Geoff and Diane Gray’s son, also called Geoff, died near the Deepcut officers’ mess. Like Pte Collinson, there were many peculiarities about the death of this young soldier. Shots were heard and investigated by other members of the guard. But they did not find Pte Gray’s body until the third or fourth sweep of the perimeter, in a position which some felt they had searched before. Suspicions were further aroused when it was discovered that Pte Gray had suffered not one, but two, gunshot wounds to either side of his forehead. The SA80 rifle by his side had fired five shots. An independent ballistics expert has since suggested that the shots were angled from above - an unlikely stance for a man trying to kill himself with a rifle. The Grays and the Collinsons have led the campaign for a thorough investigation through a public inquiry into the mysterious circumstances of each case. Yet seven years on from the first death, and six months after the latest police investigation started, they are apparently little nearer the truth. Indeed, the probe is "stretching like a piece of elastic", according to one senior detective, giving rise to suspicions that such elasticity is deliberate and convenient. The four initial investigations into the deaths of Privates Gray and Collinson, along with those of Privates Sean Benton and Cheryl James are widely thought to have been - at best - a half-hearted fiasco. Surrey police, who bore official responsibility for the investigations, have admitted "mistakes" were made - mistakes which may already have wrecked any chance of the truth coming out. As is customary, they were "assisted" by the Military Police. But there was also a less easily defined malaise - an institutional problem at Deepcut and maybe within the Army as a whole. As Terry Haley, whose son Christopher Young, died away from his barracks in 1995, revealed yesterday the apparent lack of care for military personnel exists across the board. He said: "Why should our children be treated any differently to young people in civilian life? In the Army, welfare considerations are prehistoric in their standards. "Our children were employed by the MoD, but when we needed them most the MoD turned their backs on us." Amid the public clamour for answers to serious questions concerning military procedure and alleged cover-ups, it would appear barrackroom bullying and sexual harassment is growing ever stronger. Mr Cooper said: "We are at a time where people are about to go out to Iraq, possible to combat. "At a time like this in particular surely their families should at least be able to feel reassured their sons and daughters are being taken care of in Britain?" He said the Deepcut parents wanted legislation to be introduced to prevent the military carrying out internal investigations. Their demands are backed by the families of other soldiers who also died at barracks in mysterious circumstances. But the MoD said that all deaths which occur on military barracks are referred immediately to the police who have "primacy" in all cases and that there was no "dispute" about this fact. A spokeswoman for the MoD said: "We have nothing to cover-up and nothing to hide. It would be foolish to say that bullying and harassment doesn’t happen. However, the army has a zero-tolerance attitude to it and if anyone is found guilty of crimes associated with bullying they would be more than likely discharged from the army." This article: http://thescotsman.co.uk/uk.cfm?id=1205492002 More Deepcut Barracks deaths: http://www.news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=502 Websites: Justice for James Collinson http://www.committed.to/james Justice for Pte Geoff Gray http://www.justice4ptegeoffgray.co.uk/ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http://archive.jab.org/ctrl@;listserv.aol.com/ <A HREF="http://archive.jab.org/ctrl@;listserv.aol.com/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
