Cheryl James: Deepcut soldier's family vow to continue fight for justice

Speaking after the verdict, Des James said it was not 'the end of the road just yet' Credit: PA

The head of the Army has said that a public inquiry into Deepcut barracks should be held if it is the "best method" of getting the truth.

General Sir Nick Carter also apologised "unreservedly" to the parents of Private Cheryl James after an inquest which found she killed herself also criticised the care offered to recruits at Deepcut barracks.

Gen Carter's comments came as Cheryl James' family vowed to continue their fight for justice for their daughter after a coroner ruled the teenage soldier had shot herself at the barracks.

After listening to three months of evidence, Brian Barker QC ruled that there was no evidence that Ms James was unlawfully killed, although he was highly critical of the atmosphere at the barracks.

Speaking after the verdict at Woking Coroner's Court, Ms James' father, Des James, said it was not "the end of the road just yet".

He said the family was "deeply saddened" by the inquest's conclusions, but promised to continue the family's fight, saying: "I do believe that at some stage some sort of inquiry that looks at how that culture [at Deepcut] was created would be useful."

Mr James described Deepcut as a "deeply toxic environment" and said he felt his daughter might still be alive had he not "delivered her to that awful place".

  • Video report by ITV News correspondent Paul Davies:

Private James, 18, from Llangollen, Denbighshire in north Wales, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in 1995 - one of four recruits to die at the Surrey barracks in seven years.

The Army insists all the deaths were suicide but the soldiers' families had fiercely disputed the claim.

While the coroner ruled on Friday that Ms James had shot herself, he heaped criticism on the welfare standards at Deepcut, and was deeply critical about the poor quality of the initial investigations into the deaths.

Formally recording a verdict of suicide, Mr Barker said: "There can be no reasonable doubt that Ms James carried out an intended action and knew that its consequence would be death.

"I'm satisfied so that I'm sure Ms James inflicted the fatal shot and intended to die."

But he also said:

  • Lone guard activity - which Pte James was carrying out when she was killed - was a "potentially dangerous activity" and against army regulations

  • Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) handed out guard duty to trainees as punishment - which is against army rules

  • The extent to which trainees were able to have sex was "inappropriate"

  • The Army accepted that some instructors "saw young females as a sexual challenge"

  • The "haphazard provision of welfare support was insufficient"

Cheryl James was just 18 when she died Credit: PA

Following the verdict, Surrey Police apologised for the "mistakes" in the initial investigation.

Speaking outside the coroner's court, Detective Superintendent Adam Hibbert said Surrey Police "have long accepted mistakes were made during this initial investigation, and has previously apologised to the family for those errors.

"Today, we would reiterate those apologies", he added.

The ministry of defence also issued an apology after the verdict, the saying the Army was now a "beacon of equality and opportunity".

In an article in The Daily Telegraph, British army chief General Sir Nick Carter said the service would be "sure to learn" from the inquest.