Armed Forces Bill

My hon. Friend is right. That is why the Deepcut and Beyond group is still asking for a public inquiry. Having tried and tried—for many years, in some cases—to get answers from the Army and the armed forces in general, the families feel that an independent inquiry is the only way to meet their calls for truth, justice and change. There have been at least five internal military inquiries, as well as two police investigations costing at least £1 million, another police force investigating the integrity of the first, a Select Committee inquiry, a review conducted behind closed doors by Nicholas Blake QC and another inquest by the Queen’s coroner. How many more investigations are we to have? To date, every inquiry has been limited by its terms of reference. None had powers sufficient to fulfil the requirements for the necessary public investigation of non-combat deaths. None had the weight and stature to make recommendations for lasting change and none had the authority to restore public confidence.