Police exhume body amid inquiry into army deaths

The parents of a young soldier who died in suspicious circumstances at an army base have asked police to exhume his body to establish the truth about his death.

Private James Collinson, 17, is one of four people to have died at the Royal Logistic Corps Headquarters at the Princess Royal Barracks in Deepcut, Surrey, in recent years.

The Ministry of Defence insists the deaths were all suicides but a police investigation has since been launched.

The soldiers' families have always refused to believe their children committed suicide and fear they were murdered.

Pte Collinson, from Perth, Scotland, was found with a single gunshot wound to his head in March.

His parents, Jim and Yvonne Collinson, said yesterday that they were determined to find out what really happened. "The exhumation of his body is just one step that we are taking to achieve this objective," they said. "Distressing as it is to us, we will continue to do everything that is necessary to find out how and why our son's life was so dramatically cut short.

"This is a very difficult time for us and we thank people for their interest and support."

Four days before Pte Collinson's death, an inquest returned an open verdict into the death of Private Geoff Gray, from east London, who also died at the barracks.

The 17-year-old was killed by two gunshot wounds, one above each eyebrow, while guarding the officers' mess in September last year. During the inquest, witnesses said they had heard three shots and saw a man running from the scene.

Pte Gray's father, who is also called Geoff, said he thought the Collinson family was very brave in asking for the exhumation. "We can't do this because our son was cremated. They want a post-mortem to see if there is any ballistic evidence. If any is found then it will just go to show how slapdash the first investigation was."

The post-mortem examination will be carried out by a Home Office pathologist and an independent pathologist acting for the family.

In June 1995, Private Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, East Sussex, was killed by five gunshot wounds to the chest.

Five months later, 17-year-old Cheryl James's body was discovered outside the camp perimeter with a bullet through her forehead.

Private James, from Llangollen, Denbighshire, who had been in the Army for six months, had been manning her guard post when she died. At her inquest, although the Army presented evidence that she committed suicide, the coroner disagreed and recorded a open verdict.

The publicity into the deaths prompted claims of bullying and sexual harassment. Pte James's parents said they believed their daughter had been forced into a sexual relationship with a corporal at the barracks.

A female soldier who has since left the Army told them that women were often forced into sex with senior officers.