THE father of a North-East soldier who died in suspicious circumstances said last night he had damning new evidence that called into question a £1m police re-investigation.

Geoff Gray says it reveals that only 12 hours after Surrey Police told him they were re-examining how his son died, police officers apparently briefed the Army saying they would support the conclusion he had killed himself.

Mr Gray also says that other evidence seems to indicate the police force's motivation was to end speculation the police and Army were covering up the Seaham soldier's death, and that of three other privates, at Deepcut barracks, in Surrey.

Private Gray, also called Geoff, was found dead from two gunshot wounds to the head at the base in September 2001.

The Army has always maintained he committed suicide, but a coroner later recorded an open verdict because he was not satisfied the soldier took his life. His family say he was murdered.

Surrey Police's handling of the case is under investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police, following complaints from the families of the four soldiers.

Mr Gray had requested documents from the Ministry of Defence under the Freedom of Information Act.

This was after he and his wife, Diane, had met senior detectives in 2002, who told them they were launching a new inquiry and were keeping an open mind about how their son died.

But Mr Gray said last night that the documents now indicated this was not the case, with officers seemingly having already made up their minds that he had committed suicide before inquiries had even begun.

Mr Gray said: "I am totally disgusted by it. For me to be told by senior Surrey police officers they are going to re-investigate my son's death and then, less than 12 hours later, they are briefing the Army saying they were going to say it was suicide, is astounding.

"I am going to go back to Adam Ingram and Tony Blair, who stood in the Houses of Parliament and said there was to be a thorough investigation in my son's death, to ask how that can be if the mindset had already been decided before a re-investigation had even started."

Mr Gray said the MoD documents detailed the meeting Surrey Police had with him and his wife on April 29, 2002, and showed that on April 30, police admitted the re-investigation would have the same result as the Army had reached -that Pte Gray had committed suicide.

Further documents also revealed the gun that was found next to Pte Gray's body was taken to a police station in Surrey the next morning, but Surrey Police have always maintained to the family the Army took the weapon away for destruction.

Mr Gray said he planned to make a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about the findings.

The police force carried out a £1m, 15-month investigation into the deaths of the four soldiers, who all died from gunshot wounds at the base over a seven-year period.

It concluded there was no evidence of foul play, but that went against evidence from an independent ballistics expert hired by the families, who said some of the soldiers would not have killed themselves.

The Government has so far resisted calls by the Deepcut families to hold a public inquiry into the deaths.

A Surrey Police spokeswoman said: "Devon and Cornwall Police is currently carrying out a review of the Surrey Police investigation including issues of the mindset of our investigation and our contact with the Army.

"We have passed the decision from the Army to Devon and Cornwall for them to consider as part of their investigation."