Deepcut soldier's death was suicide, coroner says in critical verdict

Young army recruit Private Sean Benton's death was suicide, an inquest into his death has ruled.
Pte Sean BentonPte Sean Benton
Pte Sean Benton

Judge Peter Rook QC delivered a narrative verdict severely criticising ‘serious failures in the duty of care’ at Deepcut Barracks where the young soldier’s body was found 23 years ago with five bullet wounds to the chest.

Recording his verdict of suicide, Judge Rook QC said Pte Benton, from Hastings, died of blood loss caused by self-inflicted gunfire and said there was no third-party involvement in his death.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The wide-ranging inquest, which was held at Woking Coroner’s Court, began in January and heard evidence from 174 witnesses about Pte Benton and life at the Surrey camp.

Many witnesses made serious allegations of bullying, abuse and mismanagement at Deepcut – where, according to evidence heard, in 1995 there could be just one non-commissioned officer in charge of up to 300 young recruits.

The inquest previously heard evidence that Pte Benton suffered from mental health problems, and was physically and verbally attacked and ‘humiliated’ by his fellow trainee soldiers and superiors.

Witnesses described a ‘culture of abuse’ at Deepcut, while former staff said they felt unprepared to take charge of hundreds of trainee soldiers at the barracks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Pte Benton, 20, was found with five bullet wounds to his chest on June 9, 1995 – shortly after he had been told he was to be discharged from the Army. He was the first of four young soldiers to die of gunshot wounds at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002.

Judge Rook QC said Pte Benton had persuaded a fellow trainee to hand him a gun after being told he was to be discharged from the Army.

Liberty – which represents Pte Benton’s family – has today warned that serious crimes including rape, sexual assault and grievous bodily harm can still be investigated by the Army’s internal police force, the military police, instead of a civilian force.

In a statement, Liberty said: “Many assaults including those suffered by (Pte Benton) can still be investigated by a soldier’s own Commanding Officer and not referred to any kind of police at all.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The military police lack the resources and experience to competently and independently investigate the most serious crimes – as demonstrated by the collapse of a recent criminal trial involving allegations that training instructors at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate had committed serious assaults on junior recruits and the very strong critical remarks of the Judge Advocate.”

After the verdict, Pte Benton’s family said vulnerable young soldiers today could still go through the same experiences Pte Benton did 23 years ago.

Pte Benton’s death was initially followed by a brief investigation by the military’s internal police force, which was described as ‘rushed and grossly inadequate’ by his family who went on to spend more than 20 years fighting for the inquest they said their son deserved.

Pte Benton’s sister Tracy Lewis and his twin brother Tony Benton, who are represented by Liberty, applied for a second inquest in July 2015 which was granted in October 2016.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The application was made possible only after Pte Benton’s late mother Linda Benton used the Human Rights Act to finally access vast amounts of evidence held by Surrey Police about his death. Linda died in May 2015, having never discovered the truth about what happened to her son.

Pte Sean Benton’s older sister Tracy Lewis said: “In the last few months of his life, Sean had nowhere to go. If there had been a good, independent complaints system, or if he had known he could have reported the assaults he suffered to the police, he might have got the help he needed. But at Deepcut, the people who were causing him terrible problems were the same people he would have had to ask for help. So he was stuck.

“The Army will say things are different today. I don’t believe enough has changed.

“If Sean – or a vulnerable young man like him – joined the Army today, I worry that he could go through the same thing. I fear that another family today might have to endure what mine has for 23 years. Our soldiers are still subject to an inferior, second-class justice system – less fair, less thorough and less independent than the civilian one.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Emma Norton, Head of Legal Casework at Liberty and solicitor for the Benton family, said: “Private Sean Benton was routinely attacked and humiliated at Deepcut barracks. He had nowhere to turn for help, and his mental health fell apart.

“Myth-busting recruitment campaigns might claim things are different now – but we still see soldiers failed by a closed-ranks military culture that resents outside oversight.

“When soldiers are assaulted or face sexual violence at work, the Army must guarantee civilian police will investigate those crimes. The men and women who fight for our country deserve equal justice.”

Liberty also represents the family of Cheryl James, who died at Deepcut on November 27, 1995. A fresh inquest into her death was held in 2016. Liberty also acts for the family of Private James Collinson.