'Suicide soldier forced into sex'

The parents of a young soldier who died while stationed at a Surrey barracks claim that she was forced into having sex with a corporal.

Doreen and Des James claimed that Private Cheryl James, 17, died at the Army's Royal Logistics Corps headquarters in Deepcut in November 1995 after being forced into the sexual relationship.

Pte James's body was discovered with a rifle at her side just four months after completing her Army training. She died from a gunshot to the head and Army bosses claimed she had committed suicide.

However, a coroner rejected the Army's evidence, recording an open verdict at an inquest into her death.

Now her parents have reopened the debate into their daughter's death after discovering records of an internal Army inquiry which delivered a verdict of suicide. They claim Pte James was sexually intimidated by a corporal at the Leaconfield barracks where she had been sent for training.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr James said: "We accepted what the Army told us seven years ago because we didn't really have anything else to go on. But they are no longer dealing with a man destroyed by the death of someone very precious.

"This has given me the strength of 10 men and I am not going to let it go away this time. We have both tried so hard not to get embroiled in conspiracy theories but the more we find out the more difficult it is."

Mr and Mrs James discovered an Army report into their daughter's death, which included evidence that a corporal propositioned her. One man alleged: "It was no secret the corporal always bragged about whoever he'd had sex with. Cheryl would not have had any choice.

"In the Army, when someone with stripes on tells you what to do, you do it. And you definitely did what this guy told you to do. He was a psycho."

Pte James's death was one of four suspicious deaths at the Deepcut base since 1995. In addition, the Army has held 28 court martials for violent conduct at the barracks in the past seven years, deepening suspicions of a culture of bullying and harassment.

Mr James insisted he would accept that his daughter committed suicide, but attacked the Army's culture of secrecy and demanded real answers. He said: "Can you believe the arrogance of an organisation that overturns a verdict like that, files the files away nice and tidily and doesn't tell a soul? Even now, after all these years, I find that obscene."