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Grieving Deepcut recruits were told to 'keep your mouths shut', inquest hears | Grieving Deepcut recruits were told to 'keep your mouths shut', inquest hears |
(35 minutes later) | |
Female recruits at Deepcut barracks were told to “keep your mouths shut” after the death of Pte Cheryl James, an inquest has heard. | |
James, 18, was discovered with a fatal bullet wound in November 1995. She was one of four recruits to die at the army training camp in Surrey over a seven-year period. | James, 18, was discovered with a fatal bullet wound in November 1995. She was one of four recruits to die at the army training camp in Surrey over a seven-year period. |
Claire Barnett said a group of female recruits had gathered in a communal area to comfort each other after James’s death when Sgt Andrew Gavaghan “waltzed” into the room. | |
The inquest previously heard claims that Gavaghan ordered James to have sex with another soldier the night before she died. | |
Barnett told Woking coroner’s court: “He [Gavaghan] came in the room and the way he came in, I would say he just strolled in. He just looked as if nothing had happened, in my personal opinion. | Barnett told Woking coroner’s court: “He [Gavaghan] came in the room and the way he came in, I would say he just strolled in. He just looked as if nothing had happened, in my personal opinion. |
“He asked: ‘How is everyone doing? Is everyone all right?’ Which I thought was pretty stupid at the time. People in the room were wrapped in duvets. He just waltzed in, strolled over to the window and looked out of the window with his hands behind his back.” | “He asked: ‘How is everyone doing? Is everyone all right?’ Which I thought was pretty stupid at the time. People in the room were wrapped in duvets. He just waltzed in, strolled over to the window and looked out of the window with his hands behind his back.” |
Barnett said the women were told not to talk to the press or the police. She said: “We all came together outside and were basically told: ‘Keep your mouths shut. Don’t speak to anyone.’ Words to that effect. We weren’t allowed off camp and no one was allowed in.” | |
Barnett, who said she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, sat beside her husband during her evidence. She told the inquest she had spoken briefly to James on the morning of her death. | |
“I saw in her eyes that something was not right. That something was wrong. I didn’t get a chance to press it. It was two or three seconds then it was gone,” she said. | |
The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |
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