The Government last night pledged to leave no stone unturned in its investigation into the mysterious deaths of British soldiers.

A police investigation into the deaths at Deepcut barracks in Surrey is to be followed by an Army inquiry, Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said.

He promised MPs at question time that any "new lessons to be learned" from the investigations would be "moved forward quickly".

The Government would respond to both police and army reports "positively", he added.

Families of the young soldiers demanded an investigation into the deaths at after concerns about bullying and possible involvement of officers.

Private Geoff Gray, 17, formerly of Seaham, County Durham, died in September 2001 Privates Cheryl James, 18, and Sean Benton, 20, died in 1995, and Private James Collison died earlier this year on March 23.

Tory Nick Hawkins, whose Surrey Heath constituency covers Deepcut barracks, said the investigation was a "matter of grave concern".

He called for Army authorities to follow up the police investigation with their own inquiry to "look into any further implications their may be for military matters".

Private Gray's family are also backing calls for the review to be extended to cover other barracks, including Catterick, in North Yorkshire.

The Northern Echo revealed last week how questions still remain over as many as 23 deaths at Europe's biggest army base.