ARMY DEATHS

Early day motion 926, tabled 15 March 2005 by Kevin McNamara (Labour). Signed by 46 members.

That this House welcomes the report of the Defence Select Committee into the exercise of Duty of Care in the Armed Services; urges the Ministry of Defence to study the evidence considered by the Committee and act upon its recommendations without delay; believes the Select Committee proposal to establish an Independent Military Complaints Commission could make a valuable contribution to providing a system of independent oversight; notes the ongoing study of the training regime undertaken by the Adult Learning Inspectorate and the Deepcut deaths review being undertaken by Nicholas Blake QC; further notes however that these investigations will not satisfy the demands of Deepcut and Beyond families who have drawn attention to further non-combat deaths at Deepcut and Catterick and in barracks throughout the United Kingdom and overseas and who are pressing for those responsible right up the chain of command to be held to account; calls for systematic change to prevent such deaths in the future; and believes that only an independent judicial inquiry is capable of satisfying those demands.

Signatures by party: Labour 27, Liberal Democrat 13, Labour/Co-operative 2, Conservative 1, DUP 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1.