And police today said they were checking the DNA of Lance Corporal David Atkinson to see if he was linked to any other killings.

Atkinson’s violent past also included the false imprisonment of a teenager.

Sally’s mum, Sue, said: “Questions will have to be asked as to why he was still in the Army, especially so near to a town like Cambridge.”

Exclusive

By Rob Neal

Reporting from the hotel where Sally suspect David Atkinson killed himself

Atkinson’s last known movements were revealed by a barman working at the hotel where the soldier killed himself.

The Portugese barman, who works at the Corus Hotel in central Glasgow, told the News how he said to Atkinson he was not welcome in the quiet first-floor bar and refused to serve him.

“The guy was well gone, there was no way I was going to serve him as he already looked liked he had far too much to drink,” said the hotel employee.

“It’s a shame for the hotel what happened here the other day as it brings bad publicity for the company. The whole world knows that it happened here.”

Atkinson, a soldier based with the 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) at Waterbeach barracks, set himself on fire before jumping out of his seventh-floor bedroom at the hotel in the early hours of Saturday.

The 31-year-old lay burning on the pavement below before firefighters arrived at the scene to extinguish his smouldering body.

Police yesterday confirmed his body was that of a man found outside the hotel.

The barman, who asked not to be named, explained how Atkinson could have turned up at the three-star hotel without a prior booking.

“Most of the hotels around here ask you book before you turn up but here you can just walk through the door, hand over £40 and get a room,” he said.

Atkinson is also alleged to have been watching pornographic films on the television in his room before dousing himself with petrol and jumping out of his window.

Films with “adult” content are easily available on every television at the 121-bedroom hotel.

For a charge of £9.95 per day guests can subscribe to a variety of extra channels.

Other staff at the Corus Hotel remained tight-lipped about the events of Saturday morning.

Although admitting he was on duty when Atkinson plunged to his death, the duty porter said he was under strict instructions not to say anything about the gruesome incident.

The Corus Hotel has recently undergone a multi-million pound top-to-toe investment programme and is especially popular with businesses, which hold conferences on the first floor.

Last night the hotel was eerily empty with only a handful of guests enjoying a beer or a bite to eat in the restaurant.

One guest, when told about the events of Saturday, expressed his shock.

“I can think of easier ways to kill yourself,” he said. “It’s one hell of a way to go.”

Police said they were investigating and allegation a woman was attacked just hours before Lance Corporal David Atkinson jumped to his death.

The woman told passers by a “burly man” had grabbed her in the street near the Corus Hotel in Glasgow late on Friday night.

Opinion - Page 6

newsdesk@cambridge-news.co.uk

By Andy Mann

Crime reporter

The sinister past of Lance Corporal David Atkinson emerged today, including details of the abduction of a teenager in 1997 while he was still a private Sally’s mum, Sue, demanded answers

She said. “It’s certainly concerning Questions will have to be asked as to why he was still in the Army Especially at a barracks so near a town like Cambridge. It’s very disturbing”

Sally’s dad Laurence was today furious saying he could not believe Atkinson had been allowed to stay in the Army

“I don’t want to say much because I will get myself in trouble,” he said. “But there are a lot of questions to be answered.”

Police were today investigating whether Atkinson was responsible for other unsolved attacks.

Strathclyde Detective Superintendent Willie Johnston said: “We need to look at missing person reports and outstanding crimes. We’ll be doing analysis with the help of Cambridgeshire police and the MoD on his movements and Army records to establish there aren’t further crimes he’s responsible for.”

Atkinson, who has a history of violence, was held for eight months in a military corrective training centre after falsely imprisoning an 18-year-old woman in a car. Military sources said he was cleared of kidnapping and assaulting the Polish woman, at his trial at a British Army base in Germany in 1998.

But after being found guilty of false imprisonment Atkinson was sentenced to eight months in a military prison at Colchester, Essex, and fined £1,000. He returned to his unit after serving the sentence and had been promoted.

Soldier friend Daniel Smith, 26, today described how he was with Atkinson in Cambridge on New Year’s Eve, hours before the 31-year-old is believed to have abducted and murdered Sally.

He told the Sun. “He seemed to go into some kind of trance, gawping at all the girls in their party dresses. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands and rocked backwards and forwards in his seat saying ‘Look at all the f***ing women.’

“I didn’t think anything of it but looking back it makes my blood run cold.”

Sally vanished in the early hours of New Year’s Day from outside the Avery pub in Regent Street. Cambridge. It is thought she got into Atkinson’s silver Range Rover. Her naked body was found by a walker in Madingley on Friday. Her clothes were found nearby.

Police are expected to reveal whether DNA and forensic tests prove Atkinson was her Sally’s killer.

Police were alerted to Atkinson, who served in Iraq, on January 4 after he went absent without leave from his barracks.

Officers from the Military Police special investigation branch became concerned after checking his criminal record and realising Miss Geeson was missing.

Atkinson was reported missing on New Year’s Day after a fire was discovered in his room at the Waterbeach Barracks. Police searched his quarters and an appeal went to all forces he was wanted for questioning.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: “As a result he was reported absent without leave. The Special Investigations Branch (SIB) investigated and after seeing his history, realising he was AWOL and a young woman in Cambridge was missing, decided to inform civilian police.”

Atkinson’s sinister past included allegations of rape and violent assault made by his then wife in 1996 and 1997 but both allegations were withdrawn. In 1999 he was fined £150 for stoning a swan, which had to be put down.

The MoD spokesman said. “In February 1997 he was charged with three offences that had allegedly taken place while serving at a military barracks in Germany. He was charged with false imprisonment and offences relating to kidnapping and assault.

“At a military court martial in February 1998, the then Private Atkinson was found guilty of false imprisonment but found not guilty to the other two offences.

“Private Atkinson was held in custody under close arrest at a military corrective training centre from June 1997, and the court martial decided there was no need for him to serve any further sentence.”

Atkinson, who was a black belt in karate, joined the Army in April 1992, aged 18, and spent most of his time as a barracks postman or courier. The spokesman said he was not aware the MoD had launched any inquiry into whether Atkinson should have been allowed to remain in the Army. He said it was not uncommon for soldiers to be convicted of offences, serve time in military prisons and return to their careers.

His mum Lizzie Atkinson, 48, who works at the Motorola electronics factory, was not at her East Kilbride home yesterday. His father, David, 49, had the blinds shut at his home a few miles away. The couple are understood to have divorced in 2002 and also have a 27-year old daughter, Lynne.

A neighbour of Mrs Atkinson said yesterday: “People knew David as ‘Wee Acky’ because he was really small for his age. He didn’t like to hang around in gangs and was dedicated to karate. It’s tragic for the family because they are good people.”

Sally’s mum Sue Geeson today laid a single red rose at the spot where her daughter’s body was found.

The message on it read: “To my darling Sally, I will cherish every moment we spent together. All my love always, Mum xx.”

The village was yesterday reeling from the news Lance Corporal David Atkinson, a clerk with 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault), was believed to have brutally killed the bubbly student after abducting her on New Year’s Eve.

Many of the soldiers at the barracks refused to discuss L/Cpl Atkinson, who is understood to have been based at Waterbeach for two years.

Those who did paused merely to distance themselves from him, saying the 31-year old was not in their regiment.

However one Irish sapper broke ranks, saying: “If he did the crime then as far as we’re concerned he’s done the honourable thing by killing himself.”

The wife of one serviceman said: “There is a lot of shock here and obviously a lot of gossip.

“People are saying that he was a real womaniser.”

Residents said. they were shocked and offered their sympathies to Sally’s devastated and grieving family.

Mary Hinch, of Denson Close, Waterbeach, said: “When I heard the news I felt a bit ashamed to be living in Waterbeach.

“When someone like this comes from the area you live in it’s not very nice.

“It is a very sad thing to happen and I feel so sorry for her family.

“I am shocked by it all, that someone should do something like this, it’s terrible.”

Don Miller, of Milton Park, Waterbeaeh, said: “If he is the one that has done it I will be quite pleased he has topped himself.”

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “I

By Andy Mann,

Crime reporter

Anglia Polytechnic University is considering the move as a tribute to the popular student.

The university also paid tribute to Sally, saying staff and students were “deeply saddened”.

An APU spokesman said: “It is likely Sally will be awarded a posthumous degree.

“Sally was a very good and able student and very conscientious. She would have been in line for a good grade. It would recognise her achievements and her as a person.”

He added: “Sally was a popular and talented student who was excelling in her studies.

“She will be greatly missed by both students and staff, especially those in the Department of Forensic Science and Chemistry. Our deepest sympathy goes to her family.”

Sally, a third-year forensic science student, has been described by tutors as popular, hard-working and conscientious.

The 22-year-old was due to join friends on her forensic science course for the start of their exams today.

However, the students are being offered the chance to postpone their exams following Sally’s disappearance and murder.

The APU spokesman said: “If there are students in her department sitting exams that start today and don’t think they can sit them there are arrangements for them to be done at a later date.”

University counsellors and chaplains are on standby to help friends, course mates and students devastated by Sally’s brutal killing. Welfare experts at APU Students’ Union are also available to talk to those affected.

The spokesman said: “It is the first week back for all the students. For any of the students that have been affected by Sally’s disappearance and body being found there will be counselling services, including our university chaplain.”

Andy Thwaites, 21, president of APU Students’ Union, said: “We have an advice service open all year round with trained staff.

“If people are shocked or upset they are more than welcome to talk confidentially to a trained person.”

Sally’s close friends from Southend have spoken of their devastation at her death.

A group of students who studied for their A-Levels with the 22-year-old are struggling to come to terms with her brutal killing, saying their lives have changed forever.

Rebecca Beadle, Ashleigh Carr, Donna Peck and Victoria Hobbs, who studied at Southend’s South East Essex College.

I think it’s worrying for the women round here that he was on the base. You don’t know who else is around here.”

But one resident said: “I think the Army have a lot of explaining to do.

“It appears this guy has a history of improper behaviour towards women and the Army were already concerned about him.”

“Although we didn’t see each other that often while we were at university we would telephone every week and send texts.

“I had gone to visit her in Cambridge and she had come to stay with me. We could talk for hours. She was just one of the best friends you could ever have.”

The friends were saving to go travelling in November with Victoria.

Ashleigh said: “We were so excited and had been planning to head off in November for a year.

“We wanted to see the world and were going to visit Australia, America, China and New Zealand.”

Victoria, 21, from Southend, Essex, said: “Last Sunday when she still had not come back I was really upset and knew something was wrong. She just wouldn’t do that.

“I still cannot believe this has happened and think I am going to see her again.

“I cannot believe it has happened to such a lovely person. Most people have one best friend but we were a group of best friends. Nothing will be the same again.

“She was one of the nicest people I have ever met and probably will ever meet.”

Donna, 21, from, Rochford, near Southend, who is a teacher training student at Brighton University, is devastated that she did not meet up with Sally over Christmas.

“It is horrible that I did not get to see her for the last time and it makes it all so much worse,” she said. “We spoke all the time and wished each other a merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We thought we would meet up in the new year. It makes me sick.

“When I first found out I could not stop crying. Now I am in total shock. When you see something like this on television You think it is awful but you never think it is going to happen to someone you know, especially not a close friend.

“At the moment we are all staying together. It helps to keep us strong.”

Rebecca, 21, from, Southend, said: “I saw Sally the day after Boxing Day when she came to my house for a little party:

“She was just her normal self, really chatty and bubbly. She was a wonderful person and cared so much for her friends and family.”

andymann@cambridge-news.co.uk

Why, having been found guilty by a military court seven years ago of imprisoning a young woman in Germany, was he allowed to remain in the Army?

Why, astonishingly, was he then promoted from private to lance corporal in the Royal Logistics Corps, before switching to the Royal Engineers four years ago?

And why, after his former wife told the Army that he had violently assaulted her, was no action taken against him?

To the public, and most of all to Sally’s grieving family, these are disturbing questions, to which the military has yet to fully respond.

The suspicion will be that the Army, as many large institutions are guilty of doing, is simply looking after its own.

The Ministry of Defence must get on the case and cut through the red tape to ensure the police have all the information they need.

lf forensic tests establish that the sapper did indeed kill Sally, it is conceivable there will be other unsolved incidents of a similar nature they will want to re-examine.

What is needed is openness and cooperation - not closed doors and clannishness.

Public sector union Unison said contracting out cleaning services to private companies had led to dirtier wards and soaring rates of superbugs such as MRSA.

Addenbrooke’s has one of the highest rates of MRSA in the country, with 127 cases reported in 2002 and 2003.

Ministers have stressed the need for greater cleanliness on wards as the key to fighting off the growing problem.

But, in a report published yesterday, Unison claimed that the rise in non-NHS cleaners was the reason for dirty wards.

The union claimed staff cuts had been driven by contractors “squeezing costs to boost profits” and called for an end to outsourced cleaning.

The report claims that the number of cleaners in the NHS has fallen from 100,000 20 years ago to 55,000 in 2003/4.

South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley, Conservative health spokesman, seized on the report as evidence that the Government had not done enough to combat the problem.

“MRSA cases have doubled on this Government’s watch but the public need to be able to expect that their hospitals will be clean and safe,” he said.

“Labour have said time and again they will introduce measures to improve ward cleanliness - in other words all talk.

“We, on the other hand, have publicised a programme of action which will ensure that hospitals are genuinely accountable for the effectiveness of their cleaning, so as to meet the highest standards.”

Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said it was “plain foolish” to under estimate the contribution of cleaning staff.

He said: “As the numbers of cleaners have gone down, infection rates have soared.”

Health Secretary John Reid issued new contracting guidelines last year which would give ward staff greater control over cleaning teams.

But Mr Prentis said this was not enough, adding: “Instead of wasting valuable time and money issuing further guidance on the contracting process, the Government should bite the bullet and end contracting out altogether.”

The Department of Health said the fall in NHS cleaners was due to a 20 per cent reduction in the size of the NHS estate - meaning there was less to be cleaned.

Dr Reid has promised to halve MRSA cases in hospitals by March 2008.

The Unison report concluded that improving the quality of cleaning would be more effective in tackling MRSA than other infection control measures.

Cardiff University’s Steve Davies, who compiled the report, claimed patients, staff and the Government knew that standards had fallen since 1983, when cleaning services were tendered for the first time.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said: “The issue of MRSA is a very complex one - and pinning down the exact contributing factors is hard to do.

“As a regional centre for various specialties, Addenbrooke’s tends to see sicker patients who are more vulnerable to infection. Attributing deaths to MRSA is also difficult, as there are often many factors at play and the vast majority of MRSA infections do not cause patient death.

“Addenbrooke’s works hard to ensure that high levels of cleanliness are maintained at all times. We currently have more cleaners working on site than at any time in the past three years.

“Our new ‘Modern Matrons’ have the day-to-day responsibility of monitoring ward cleanliness and ensuring that hygiene standards are followed. We also have a rapid-response cleanliness team to deal with infection issues as soon as they arise and are currently carrying out a programme of thorough cleaning throughout all ward areas.

“Additional measures that have recently been introduced to help combat infection include placing antibacterial hand-rub at every patient’s bedside and using disposable curtains, which we believe will further reduce the risk of infection.”

The hospital has launched a campaign to encourage everyone who works or visits the hospital to take the issue of infection seriously. Further details of the campaign, Together we can fight infection, can be found at www.addenbrookes.org.uk/infection

sarahgowler@cambridge-news.co.uk