Deepcut deaths are linked, says father

The father of one of the four soldiers shot dead at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey says he believes the killing of a fifth soldier in London is linked to his son's death.

Geoff Gray said a chill ran down his spine when he heard that Private Mario O'Brien Clarke, 26, had been found shot on an estate in east London on Boxing Day.

His son, also called Geoff, 17, was found dead at the barracks in September 2001, from two bullet wounds to the head.

"It's two minutes from where I live and from where Geoff lived," he said of the latest death. "It's far too close to be a coincidence; two soldiers killed from the same barracks, one a short distance from where the other lived. Could someone know they can't be seen to kill anybody else at Deepcut so they shot him in London?"

The Metropolitan police, who have launched a murder investigation, say they are not linking the death to the inquiry at Deepcut "at this time". The Deepcut deaths are still recorded as suicide by the army, making it difficult for the Met to link them to any murder investigation.

Pte Clarke was found early in the evening at the Woolpack House estate in Hackney, east London, with a single gunshot wound. He died half an hour later. Police said they thought Clarke, who was black, was killed by a black assailant. In most cases, black-on-black shootings are suspected to have drugs links. One police theory is that Clarke may have been involved with Yardie gangsters. "The victim appears to have been running with the wrong crowd [who may] have thought he killed a rival gangsterand decided to take action," said a police source yesterday.

But there are other similarities between Clarke's killing and those at Deepcut.

The soldiers killed at Deepcut were new recruits. Clarke, also a new recruit with the Royal Logistical Corps, was halfway through his training. Police so far are refusing to say where Clarke's wound was, and whether he was shot at close range, with pistol or rifle.

The Deepcut soldiers were all shot at close range at the barracks. Pte James Collinson, 17, was killed by a single gun shot in March 2001. Pte Cheryl James, 18, died from a single gun shot in 1995 – the year Pte Sean Benton, 20, also died from five gunshot wounds.

The Army maintains all the deaths were suicides. The barracks, however, are dogged by allegations of physical and sexual bullying. Surrey police are investigating, and an independent forensic consultant has cast doubt on the suicide theory.

Hackney residents say the area is a focus for drug dealing and "frequent shootings". In the Duke of Wellington pub people said there had been at least 12 shootings in the past 12 months. But Surrey police said that, after communication with Scotland Yard over Pte Clarke's killing, they were satisfied there was no link with drugs.