More than 55 family members of 25 victims of the 1994 RAF Chinook crash have delivered a letter to Andy Burnham, urging the prime minister to end what they call Britain’s “cover-up culture” and order an independent review into the disaster.
Twenty-nine serving military personnel died when the Chinook HC2 helicopter crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in south-west Scotland on 2 June 1994, while flying from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Inverness. The majority on board were British intelligence experts from MI5, the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
“Families of 29 killed in 1994 RAF Chinook crash urge PM Burnham to order independent review, citing cover-up.”
The two pilots were initially blamed for the crash but exonerated after a 2011 inquiry, which did not determine its cause. Liam Fox, the former Conservative defence secretary who ordered that review, said last month there were now “deep concerns” that “vital information” could have been withheld. Fox, who backs calls for a fresh independent review, said there was a “strong enough belief” that a deliberate cover-up had taken place, and that details provided by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on the airworthiness of the Chinook were “not correct”.
Earlier this month, a high court judge ruled that the families of several victims could not bring a legal claim against the MoD because it had been brought too late. The Chinook Justice Campaign (CJC) said it would take the case to the European court of human rights. But Matt Tobias, whose father, Lt Col John Tobias, was killed in the crash, said the families “do not want years of further litigation” and urged Burnham to intervene.
“We would urge Mr Burnham to meet us within his first 100 days in office so we can present the evidence that has emerged over recent years and explain why we believe a fresh review, independent of the Ministry of Defence, is now essential,” Tobias said. “Mr Burnham’s speech in the House of Commons, in which he spoke about ending Britain’s cover-up culture and strengthening the duty of candour, gave our families real hope.”
In their letter, the families said the case could be a “test case” for the new Hillsborough law, which was unanimously backed by MPs this month and creates a legally enforceable duty of candour compelling public officials and authorities to act openly. “After 32 years, we are not asking for special treatment,” Tobias added. “We are simply asking for the truth.”
