Deepcut families in new attack on military

Bereaved families launched a bitter new attack today over the handling of military deaths.

Relatives of soldiers who died in controversial circumstances here and in Iraq say the Ministry of Defence has withheld vital information about the incidents.

They also claim they were treated insensitively and ordered not to embarrass the Army by speaking out.

It is being led by Reg Keys, the father of Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, who was killed by a mob in Iraq last year, and the families of three young soldiers who died at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey.

Today Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik, who has led the Deepcut campaign, said: "There are striking similarities between the cases. There were irregularities in how the soldiers were equipped and resourced. There was also a failure of empathy and respect towards the families."

Geoff Gray, 17, Cheryl James, 18, and James Collinson, 17, died from gunshot wounds at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002.

Lance Corporal Keys was one of six military policemen killed when they were surrounded by Iraqis. They were lightly armed and allegedly had unreliable radios.