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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Deepcut inquest: Army recruits told to 'keep quiet' | Deepcut inquest: Army recruits told to 'keep quiet' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A friend of Pte Cheryl James who died at Deepcut barracks has told an inquest "they were trying to keep us quiet" after her death. | A friend of Pte Cheryl James who died at Deepcut barracks has told an inquest "they were trying to keep us quiet" after her death. |
| Pte James, from Llangollen in Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die from bullet wounds at the army base between 1995 and 2002. | Pte James, from Llangollen in Denbighshire, was one of four recruits to die from bullet wounds at the army base between 1995 and 2002. |
| Pte Helen Miller said she had been pressured by a senior officer 20 years ago to say her friend was happy. | |
| She said all leave had been cancelled at the Surrey base after her death. | She said all leave had been cancelled at the Surrey base after her death. |
| She said she had been told by an unnamed sergeant major at the time to "behave myself, to stop being hysterical. I was told a couple of times 'you wont go to the funeral if you carry on'. | She said she had been told by an unnamed sergeant major at the time to "behave myself, to stop being hysterical. I was told a couple of times 'you wont go to the funeral if you carry on'. |
| "I think they were trying to keep us quiet. It was damage limitation." she said. | "I think they were trying to keep us quiet. It was damage limitation." she said. |
| John Beggs, representing Surrey Police, asked Pte Miller about a statement she had made in 2002 in which she said she always thought Pte James had killed herself. | |
| Pte Miller told the inquest: "Now, whether I believe it, I have no idea about what happened to her on that day." | |
| Giving evidence from abroad via video link, she said: "I find it very strange that she would open up to me and then out of nowhere, kill herself, without talking about it and without getting upset." | Giving evidence from abroad via video link, she said: "I find it very strange that she would open up to me and then out of nowhere, kill herself, without talking about it and without getting upset." |
| 'Struggle' at Deepcut | |
| On Thursday, the hearing was told Pte James had been in relationships with two male recruits at the barracks. | |
| "She had found herself in a situation where she didn't want to finish with one of them", WO1 Sarah Ditchfield said. | |
| Peter Mant, representing Pte James's family, asked Pte Miller if relationship problems could have caused her friend to take her own life. | |
| She said: "No. Everyone had boyfriend trouble". | |
| It was not something that was causing her "great upset", but was more "indecisiveness", she told the hearing. | |
| Pte Miller said: "I think it was a struggle for her at Deepcut." | |
| She told the inquest recruits had talked about the death of Pte Sean Benton from Hastings who was found with five gunshot wounds in June 1995. | |
| They discussed how they would kill themselves, if they were to do it. | |
| Pte Miller said: "It was the general consensus to shoot yourself [in the head] would be the easiest way to do it. | |
| "Cheryl was part of that conversation. It was a conversation many were having, not Cheryl alone." | |
| An initial inquest into Pte James's death in 1995 recorded an open verdict but that was overturned by the High Court, which ordered the new hearing. | An initial inquest into Pte James's death in 1995 recorded an open verdict but that was overturned by the High Court, which ordered the new hearing. |
| The inquest continues. | The inquest continues. |
| Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of events | Who were the Deepcut four? Background to the deaths and timeline of events |