Further Memorandum from Mr Geoff and Mrs
Diane Gray
DEEPCUT & BEYOND
FAMILIES
Need for an independent and public judicial
inquiry
DEEPCUT CATALOGUE
OF FAILURE
25 sources of systemic malfunction to be addressed
REQUIREMENT FOR
EFFECTIVE REMEDY
Article 2 rights under European Convention
Barracks death no different from "death
in custody"
EFFECTIVE INDEPENDENT
OVERSIGHT
Proposal for three-pronged protection
Ten requirements for Ombudsman
IMPROVEMENTS IN
DUTY OF
CARE
32 common sense suggestions
Diane & Geoff Gray
Deepcut & Beyond Families
1 December 2004
Deepcut & Beyond: Armed Services Families'
Justice group has three aims:
TRUTH—for families of those whose death
has not been investigated effectively
JUSTICE—in holding to account and prosecuting
those responsible
CHANGE—to protect other families and prevent
future deaths
Each of these aims is a matter of public interest
that we believe can only be addressed effectively by an independent
judicial public inquiry.
Why a judicial public inquiry?
— a body completely independent of
chain of command and Government
— sufficient powers to seize evidence
and subpoena witnesses
— authority to make recommendations
for the future
The extent and scope for such an Inquiry is
a matter for public debate and consultation with bereaved families.
Deepcut & Beyond brings bereaved families together with those
whose lives have been affected by bullying and other problems
that go unaddressed.
Every parent is aware that the service environment
must be tough if the Army is to do its job properly. But that
is no excuse for abuse. Bereaved families involved in Deepcut
& Beyond have experienced murder, manslaughter, self-inflicted
deaths, accidental deaths and natural cause deaths. Whatever the
personal circumstances of a tragic death, families have a core
of common experience. They feel that:
— they were not told the truth about
the death; that the Army covered up
— that the investigation of the death
was absent or not effective
— if there was a breakdown of the duty
of care, no-one was held accountable
— if it was possible the death could
have been prevented, no lessons were learned
Deepcut & Beyond believes that avoidable
deaths are occurring throughout the UK and Overseas. While young
soldiers in training are particularly vulnerable; avoidable deaths
are occurring while units are engaged in combat situations and
peace-keeping; on duty and off duty; on exercises and routine
patrols. For every avoidable death, there is another narrowly
avoided. The problem is widespread.
There is an urgent need for an independent assessment
to determine how widespread these problems are throughout the
Armed Services and what should be the scope for a public inquiry.
DEEPCUT CATALOGUE OF FAILURE
THE ARMY
RESPONSIBILITY
Families have identified 25 sources of systemic
failure
— Failure to take special measures
to protect those most at risk—children and young—people.
Responsibility for exercise of the duty of care rests with those
in command
— Failure to provide a regime that
offers effective protection against suicide and self-harm
— Failure to provide adequate safeguards
against the unauthorised and illegal use of lethal weapons
— Failure to deter or provide effective
means to prevent bullying and harassment
— Failure to tackle the "code
of honour"; to provide a safe and confidential avenue for
witnesses and whistle-blowers to highlight abuses and to be protected
should they be required to provide evidence
— Failure to provide an independent
system for the registration and investigation of complaints outside
the chain of command
— Failure to investigate effectively
or prosecute perpetrators thereby encouraging a culture of impunity
— Failure to supervise the abuse of
rank by junior officers, to protect against practice of humiliating
trainees
— Failure to provide an adequate system
for collecting information, compiling statistics and otherwise
monitoring the exercise of the duty of care
— Failure to protect the rights of
recruits to maintain family life through freely available access
to communication and allow parents stay involved in the ongoing
welfare of their children
— Failure to provide a safe and healthy
environment; provision for quality housing without crowding and
basic standards of facilities for personal hygiene
— Failure to protect against disproportionate
risk of accidents during training
— Failure to provide for stimulating
and educational off duty recreation and relaxation, including
a period of undisturbed sleep
— Failure to guarantee training regime
that avoids dangerous, repetitive, unproductive or tedious tasks,
administrative and manual chores
— Failure to address service culture
of substance and alcohol abuse
— Failure to provide medical care regime
where confidential problems may be addressed and complaints may
be investigated independently
— Failure to establish a means by which
soldiers who are Absent Without Leave or have left the services
may provide ideas and assistance in improving the protection regime
— Failure to respect the property of
soldiers who have lost their lives; to respect the sensitivity
of bereaved families; to return personal possessions of the deceased
— Failure to create rules that require
protection of the integrity of the scene of a potential crime
and to preserve evidence
— Failure to require army institutions
to maintain a neutral stance on the cause of death prior to the
completion of an independent investigation
— Failure to prevent army public relations
personnel interfering in the course of an investigation
— Failure to provide measures for any
independent investigation of a death occurring overseas
— Failure to promote awareness on discrimination
issues and to provide effective protection against discrimination
or harassment based on gender, sexual orientation; national, racial
or ethnic origin
— Failure of leadership to address
the responsibilities of the Army under the Human Rights Act; to
promote respect for human rights among all ranks; to promote human
rights education as a part of basic training
— Failure to provide a modern definition
of the duty of care that inspires confidence and guarantees protection
of human rights. (The Military Covenant is no substitute:
"The mutual obligation between the nation,
the Army and each individual soldier is an unbreakable bond of
identity, loyalty and responsibility")
REQUIREMENT FOR
AN EFFECTIVE
REMEDY
Families of soldiers that have died in Army
barracks have also begun to raise questions regarding Article
2 rights under the Human Rights Act. Since 1990, more than 2,000
serving soldiers in HM Armed Forces have lost their lives through
non-natural causes. Some 200 of these are firearms related. The
MoD reports 200 self-inflicted deaths over this period.
— Failure to allow prompt, independent
and effective investigation of incidents on army barracks—need
to establish police primacy for investigation of serious crime
— Failure of the Board of Inquiry system
to provide a prompt, effective, open and transparent system for
internal investigation and absence of means to follow up recommendations
— Failure to promote development of
structures for an effective forensic pathology service that can
provide authoritative expert opinion on army deaths, particularly
on ballistic-related issues
— Failure to provide an effective system
for requiring a investigation of a death through the requirement
for a thorough medical review and full autopsy that could uncover
evidence of injury or patterns of injury prior to death
— Failure to involve the families of
victims to be kept informed and fully involved in the investigation
of a death
— Failure to provide for disclosure
of evidence to the families of the deceased or provide for their
effective representation in the Coroner's Court
— Failure to provide service-wide oversight
of protection regime—need for independent inspectorate similar
to that available to Police and Prison Service
ARMY DEATHS
AND DEATHS
IN CUSTODY
Deaths in the closed environment of the service
regime shares many features of deaths in the environment of police
stations or prison.
— victims are predominantly children
and young people
— victims are at risk from bullying
and aggressive behaviour
— failure to check culture of alcohol
abuse
— potential conflict between duty of
care and internal discipline
— military law prevents victims from
"escaping"
— shortcomings in preventing unlawful
access to and use of lethal force
— serious offences dealt with by courts
martial—problem of Article 6 (fair trial) rights
Army deaths are also accompanied by allegations
of failure to provide adequate remedy in the form of effective
investigation
— independence of investigation—unsatisfactory
role of RMP SIB
— allegations of army failure to secure
and destruction of evidence
— deaths in army barracks overseas
are only investigated internally
— witnesses are under army discipline
and informal code of honour
— families feel they were not kept
informed of progress of investigation
For the effective protection of the right of
life of service personnel, webelieve that barracks deaths should
be treated as if they were a "death in custody".
INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT
The Ministry of Defence underestimate the scale
and extent of the problem. Avoidable deaths continue unabated
because there is no transparency and no checks and balances in
place. The Deepcut & Beyond group has discussed a three-pronged
system of independent oversight:
— an independent complaints commissioner
or Armed Services Ombudsman would conduct or supervise police
investigations all deaths and serious assaults
— an independent inspectorate or HM
Inspector for the Armed Services similar to bodies established
for police and prisons would ensure efficient and effective personnel
practice
— locally-based monitors or Board of
Lay Visitors for army mums and dads to inspect barracks conditions
Ten critical questions for an Armed Services Ombudsman
Independence
— Office established by legislation
in Parliament
— Independent appointments procedure
— Look at any complaint + initiate
own investigations
— Parliament to guarantee sufficient
funding
Sufficient Powers
— A team of independent investigators
with power of arrest
— Power to visit any barracks; interview
any soldier; seize any document
— It would be an offence to obstruct
the Ombudsman; no "no-go" areas
Openness and transparency
— Publish findings and recommendations
— Annual report to Parliament
— Establish partnership with families
of victims
DUTY OF
CARE SUGGESTIONS
Special measures to protect those most at risk
— careful monitoring of children and
young people; service-wide oversight
— publication of statistical analysis
of deaths, discipline
— spotlight on "problem camps"
for bullying
— greater responsibility on those in
command
— programme of protection against suicide
and self-harm
— additional safeguards on handling
of lethal weapons
Protection from the harm of others
— effective deterrents against bullying
and harassment
— rapid punishment of bullies; removal
from post
— no-one on bail for crimes of violence
allowed on army premises
— action to break the "code-of-honour"
and reward whistle-blowers
— outlaw all practices based on humiliation
of recruits
— awareness of and protection against
discrimination, race, gender etc
— strict child protection vetting and
penalties against abuse of rank by junior NCOs
— an independent complaints system
with powers to investigate abuse
Protect the well-being of the trainee
— maintenance of family life, greater
involvement of parents
— a safe and healthy environment, hygiene
and sports facilities
— quality housing with space for personal
development
— providing stimulating off-duty recreation
and relaxation
— safeguarding a period of undisturbed
sleep
— confidential civilian medical and
mental health care regime
— respecting religious diversity in
worship and advice services
Changing the nature of training
— health and safety evaluation and
standards in training programmes
— education in basic life skills
— training to include human rights
and equality awareness
— training that avoids repetitive,
unproductive or tedious tasks
— analysis of AWOLs and early leavers—what
went wrong
Where fatalities have occurred
— enforce rules to protect potential
crime scene and preserve evidence
— Army must maintain neutral stance
on cause of death until police conclude
— end the recording of armed exercise
fatalities as RTAs
— make provision for independent investigation
of deaths overseas respect the property and personal effects of
soldiers who have lost their lives
— respect sensitivity of bereaved parents,
brothers and sisters, wives and children
December 2004
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