A 'catastrophic' failure

The Army and Ministry of Defence were blasted today in the most damning report yet produced in the wake of the Deepcut scandal.

The Commons defence committee said military commanders had grossly failed in their "duty of care" to recruits at Deepcut, Catterick and other training camps.

One member described the failings as "shocking" and "catastrophic". In landmark recommendations, the MPs called for Army commanders to be stripped of their powers to investigate abuse.

They attacked the "low" standards of many instructors and said youngest soldiers should no longer be allowed firearms on guard duty. The committee said the MoD ignored repeated warnings about problems at Deepcut and elsewhere. One officer, Lt-Col Richard Haes, testified he had pleaded for extra staff and money but was told to go away by Army chiefs.

The report follows a series of scandals at Deepcut, where four young soldiers died in disputed circumstances between 1995 and 2002. Geoff Gray, whose son, also named Geoff, died there in 2001, said: "If the report says there was a catastrophic failure, I want to know how high that goes. If it goes to ministerial level, we need to know whether the minister was part of the problem. If he was, he's got to resign."

The report does not back the parents' calls for a public inquiry, but Mr Gray said it added "hugely" to pressure on the MoD to allow one.