LONDON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- British Defense Minister Adam Ingram announced Tuesday an independent review into allegations of sexual and physical abuse at Britain's Deepcut army barracks.
A police report obtained by Channel Four Monday revealed more than 100 allegations of sexual abuse, humiliation, beating and rape at barracks across Britain, including at Deepcut in Surrey where four soldiers died from gunshot wounds between 1995 and 2001.
The parents of the dead soldiers see the document as further evidence that their children died as a result of an army culture of bullying and abuse, and have demanded a public independent inquiry.
However Ingram stopped short of agreeing to their demands. The review will not be public nor will it focus on the deaths but on a wider investigation of all claims.
The defense minister said the level of detail in the documents was sparse and the claims were uncorroborated.
He defended army culture, saying "Violence and intimidation are not the means by which the army produces the soldiers it needs."
