The Independent

15 April 2005

Police began an independent investigation of recruit deaths at Deepcut barracks with their minds made up that the death of one was suicide, not murder, confidential Ministry of Defence papers show.

An MoD memorandum, on the death of 17-year-old Pte Geoff Gray appears to suggest a reinvestigation was little more than a cosmetic exercise to prove there was no cover-up.

A review of the Surrey Police investigation by the Devon and Cornwall Police has never been revealed. A report by the Commons Defence Committee last month demanded the review should be made public as soon as possible.

The MPs also said the MoD was guilty of "lack of transparency in the investigative process" over the deaths of four recruits at the Surrey barracks between 1995 and 2002. The memorandum, dated 30 April 2002, said: "Surrey police said they were to reopen the investigation into Pte Gray's death, the reason for this is to enable the police to formally present all of the evidence (to include all the evidence previously undisclosed) to the Grays [his parents].

"Police motive for doing this is to end the accusations that police and or the Army are covering things up. Police admitted the investigation will have the same end result - suicide". The documents were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Geoff Gray, Pte Gray's father. He said: "Seeing these documents fills me with distrust and disgust. We have been lied to once again."

Mr Gray told BBC London News: "Surrey Police disregarded all they said to us the previous night [before the inquiry was reopened] and then it would appear they colluded with the Army on what the outcome of the investigation would be. It appears the outcome of the investigation was set before the investigation began, The people of Surrey should be up in arms knowing that ?1m of their money had been wasted on a sham.''

He added: "We have said for a long time that we were led down the suicide route; now we have proof. Did they use the 'think murder' principle? No, they used the 'let's shove this under the carpet' principle." The families of the four recruits who died at Deepcut - Ptes Gray, Sean Benton, Cheryl James and James Collinson - vigorously dispute the official verdict that they committed suicide.

The Government has repeatedly refused the families' demand for a public inquiry. An independent inquiry is being conducted by Nicholas Blake QC but it has energed that one of his two members of staff is a Ministry of Defence employee.