Cheryl James inquest: Parents 'deeply saddened' by conclusion

Coroner Brian Barker QC ruled that Pte James' death was suicide, and that the 18-year-old died as a result of an intentional "self-inflicted shot" while on guard duty at Deepcut Army barracks in Surrey.

Speaking outside Woking Coroner's Court, Des James, with his wife Doreen at his side, said: "While we welcome the coroner's findings today on the environment at Deepcut, we are deeply saddened by the coroner's conclusions, having sat through all of the evidence ourselves, listened carefully to every word, read every statement and re-read every testimony.

"In short, it's our opinion that it did not lead to this verdict."

But he said that despite their "immense disappointment" at the ruling that she took her own life, the family believed the inquest had achieved "a great deal".

He said: "It has finally exposed to public scrutiny the deeply toxic environment in which she and hundreds of other young soldiers were forced to live."

Mr James added: "The evidence has revealed serious and profound failures in the care and supervision that ought to have been provided to her and to all the other young people that joined up with her.

"Deepcut was a toxic and horrible environment for a young woman and we have no doubt that this would have had a terrible impact on those that were required to live in it.

"We recognise that Cheryl, like so many teenagers, struggled in certain aspects of her life and had suffered some sad experiences. But she had overcome these and was doing well."

Mr James said the evidence showed she was her "usual happy self" in her final days and hours, with preoccupations that were nothing out of the norm for a teenage girl.

But he said that the inquest had come "20 years too late" for her final hours and moments.

And Mr James said the "serious and inexplicable omissions and contradictions about some evidence", and certain individuals being "less than truthful", left them "very surprised that the coroner had sufficient evidence to be satisfied that Cheryl took her own life".

He said: "This was the path urged upon him by the MoD and Surrey Police from the very start and we are so sorry to see that their efforts - motivated we believe in large part by reputation management and damage limitation - appear to have prevailed."