A FRESH call has been made for a public inquiry into the deaths of soldiers, including Perth-born James Collinson, at Deepcut army barracks.

Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, is to press the Government to restate the case for further investigations into the matter.

It follows an open verdict from Surrey’s coroner into the death of Pte Collinson who was found at the army base on March 23, 2002.

The army said the 17-year-old died from a single gunshot wound but his parents, Yvonne and Jim Collinson, have refuted the claim and campaigned for a public inquiry.

Coroner Michael Burgess said after the inquest in March the Ministry of Defence has “nothing to fear” from a public inquiry.

An independent review on March 29 into the deaths of the four soldiers at Deepcut by human rights lawyer Nicholas Blake QC stopped short of asking for a public inquiry.

However, Mr Wishart believes it is time for the Government to provide answers to the families of the dead soldiers.

“Following the Blake Report, the Government are now urging all those campaigning for a full public inquiry into the Deepcut deaths to ‘move on.’ They have stated that the families should not have a veto on this issue, and the sorry chapter that is Deepcut is now closed.”

He continued, “However, we still do not know why James Collinson and the other young soldiers died.”

Mr Wishart said, “Nothing that I have heard in the past few weeks mitigates against the case for a full public inquiry. In fact, they strengthen the case.

“It is only with a full public inquiry, held in front of a judge with the ability to subpoena and cross- examine, that we will determine the full story.

“All the other approaches have failed.”

He added, “It is for the families that this should happen.”