The family of a Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) soldier yesterday called for a public inquiry into his death after it emerged officers had expressed concern about bullying and sexual assault in the regiment.
Relatives of Pte Paul Cochrane, who shot himself in army barracks in Co Armagh in 2001, called for a more thorough investigation after an internal army report claimed several officers raised allegations that sexual assaults and a homosexual rape had occurred in the RIR.
There was no evidence or suggestion that Pte Cochrane was a victim of such an attack.
However, the report revealed that an army doctor confronted a senior officer in the RIR before the soldier's death about whether he was fit to remain on duty.
Pte Cochrane, from east Belfast, had suffered from a serious ear infection and the doctor had said he should be bedded down instead of being put on duty.
The internal report exonerated the Royal Irish Regiment and dismissed other evidence from a welfare officer who said he had warned the RIR that several soldiers were depressed and that there was a culture of bullying in the regiment. The board said the welfare officer's judgment was questionable.
Pte Cochrane's father, Billy, yesterday claimed that the report they received did not contain full statements and was blacked out in several sections.
However, the army insisted the Cochrane family had received a full report and that "no material facts of the case have been withheld". Those sections which were blacked out were information of a sensitive security nature in Northern Ireland, swear words, telephone numbers and medical evidence which would have been distressing to the family, the army said.
"The army has a no-tolerance policy on bullying," a spokesman said. "Anyone found guilty of such behaviour would be dealt with through proper disciplinary procedures."
However, Mr Cochrane was not satisfied with the report. He said: "I think anybody who sees this report would come to the conclusion that there was something wrong in the RIR. We have concerns that the report contains typed-up versions of statements given to the investigation board which do not fully reflect the evidence given to them.
"There is a need for a more thorough inquiry into all of this. People need to know the answers to a whole load of questions which this report does not answer. The way to do that is for a public inquiry."
The Cochrane family has been supported by several politicians in Northern Ireland, including the Ulster Unionist Party officer, Sir Reg Empey. - (PA)