Armed Forces Bill

The hon. Gentleman is right. My hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) also drew attention to recent newspaper articles. When we are recruiting young people to serve in our armed forces in difficult circumstances, they and their parents need assurances about that essential duty of care. If they do not receive them, it will, without a shadow of doubt, affect recruitment and morale. We need to address that issue and the Bill is the ideal opportunity. Modernisation of the armed forces means removing the stain of Deepcut. It was once a rural location in leafy Surrey—I have been there—but is now a byword for bullying and cover-up. We must stop that. Modernisation means openness and accountability. Modernisation means that when a fatal incident occurs the bereaved family are entitled to learn the truth. They are entitled to expect justice and to believe that lessons will be learned, to avoid such deaths in the future. I listened with interest to the remarks of the new Chairman of the Select Committee about informing families. They should be involved in inquiries, because all they experience is secrecy. Only limited information is given to them and they often feel that even that has to be dragged out, and the process goes on for months. When my constituent Joe McGregor and members of other families gave evidence to the previous Select Committee, they described how the visiting officer who came to tell them of the death of their child was often oblivious to their needs. The officer did not discuss with the families what had happened. They often had to ask for the return of personal possessions, which were often returned in a way that caused them even greater distress. Such issues should be addressed by the Committee.