The parents of an Army recruit from near Oswestry who died at the controversial Deepcut barracks have accused authorities of corruption as they step up their campaign for a public inquiry.

Private Cheryl James, 18, from Llangollen, was found with gunshot wounds at the barracks in November 1995.

Private James was one of four young soldiers who died at the Surrey training camp between 1995 and 2002.

Her parents Des and Doreen James, from Llanymynech, who first called for a public inquiry in 2002, spoke of their frustration as the play Deep Cut, which explores the aftermath of the deaths, took to the London stage.

They said: “Our intention is to give a snapshot of what we are facing, almost 14 years after Cheryl’s death, almost seven years since this case was raised in the Press. Because the simple truth of the matter and the one thing we want people to remember is there has not been any inquiry into Deepcut.

“Today we are forced to take our fight into the theatre on behalf of four young people whose only contribution to this sorry situation is they signed up to defend their country.

“This Government continues to refuse an inquiry into Deepcut. They hide from the debate, they pretend it is all fixed.”

Mr James said: “Given the events since 2002, given we unanimously realised even then that this Government never intended to hold any inquiry into Deepcut, given the decision of two separate police forces to lock away evidence they have collected, we can only conclude our fight is not with state bureaucracy, our fight is sadly with state corruption.

“Without such an inquiry we can never understand what happened at that camp to allow the deaths of four young people with their lives before them, and we can never be sure whether all that could have been done has been done.”

Deep Cut by Philip Ralph received critical acclaim after being staged at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival and around the UK. It is being performed at the Tricycle Theatre, London, until April 4.

Private Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, East Sussex, was found dead with gunshot wounds at the barracks in June 1995, just months before Private James’s death.

In September 2001, 17-year-old Private Geoff Gray, from Seaham, Co Durham, was found with two gunshot wounds.

Six months later, Private James Collinson, from Perth, also 17, was found with a gunshot wound.

By Suzanne Roberts