Surrey Police have released the following statement following the Coroner’s conclusions today (June 20th) into the death of Geoff Gray at the Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, in September 2001.
Detective Chief Superintendent John Boshier, said:
“The death of Geoff Gray was a tragic loss of a young person’s life.
“His family and friends have long been seeking answers to questions around the circumstances in which he died and the available evidence has now been thoroughly examined during this new inquest.
“Our thoughts remain with them as they reflect on the conclusions of the Coroner.
“Surrey Police has previously accepted mistakes were made during the initial stages of the investigation into Pte Gray’s death including a failure to properly capture forensic evidence.
“These errors resulted in further suffering for his family which is a matter of deep regret.
“The Force should have maintained primacy for investigating the deaths of four soldiers at the Deepcut barracks between 1995 and 2002; including that of Pte Gray. We have previously apologised for this and today, we reiterate that apology.
“For the past five years, a dedicated team of officers and staff have been working to disclose materials for the new coronial processes.
“This has been a lengthy and challenging task due to the volume of material.
“As we reach the conclusion of this inquest, we remain committed to continuing our support for any future disclosure requirements.”
It’s strange how people in public office make mistakes or don’t do their job properly but they are never sacked, demoted or denied promotion and any costs involved sorting it out are always paid by the tax payer, not those guilty of not doing their job properly, unlike in private businesses.