Powys parents' action call after latest tragedy
The parents of an 18-year-old who died at the notorious Deepcut Army base say an inquest on another young woman is a stark reminder that little has changed in military life since they lost their daughter.
The coroner at the second inquest into the death of Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement said bullying and the lingering effect of an alleged rape were factors in the suicide of the 30-year-old, who was found hanged in her barracks in 2011.
Today Des and Doreen James, from Llanymynech near Oswestry, said Anne-Marie's death had stark similarity to the cases of their daughter Cheryl and three young men based at Deepcut, who all died amid allegations of bullying and abuse.
Cheryl, a teenage recruit, died from gunshot wounds at the base in Surrey in November 1995.
Her parents have campaigned for answers into her death for almost two decades.
Now they are asking how many more deaths must there be before the Ministry of Defence takes action.
Cpl Ellement was found hanged at the Royal Military Police barracks in Bulford, Wiltshire.
She had suffered a bullying campaign after making allegations that two colleagues had raped her after a night out in Germany, where they were stationed, in 2009.
Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg, speaking at a second inquest into her death, called on the MoD to review how it deals with victims of sex crimes.
Mr James said: "Had there been a rigorous inquiry into the Deepcut deaths and the culture of that camp then comprehensive corrective actions might well have been put in place which may have prevented Anne-Marie's premature and unnecessary death.
"How many more of our service men and women must die before the MoD actually do something?
"Sound bites such as 'lessons have been learned' and 'we have a zero policy toward bullying' no longer fool anyone."
