Chinook disaster families publish 225 new unanswered questions before historic first ministerial meeting in 31 years
Families say repeated MoD claims of “no new evidence” are now indefensible and untenable as the total number of vital unanswered questions reaches 335.
Families say the MoD’s 30-year “lies, evasion and cover-up” must end
Campaigners say meeting is first test of the Government’s commitment to candour
MoD’s narrative - that no new inquiry will uncover new facts”— is a “deliberate misrepresentation”, say legal and technical experts.
The families of those killed in the RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have today published 225 new safety critical questions on the circumstances leading up to the 1994 disaster.
It brings the question tally so far to 335, all of which remain unanswered 31 years later. It’s emerged over the past three decades that crucial information was withheld from all six previous inquiries.
The publication of the latest questions by the Chinook Justice Campaign comes a day before government ministers - three defence ministers and the victims’ minister - meet the families for the first time in 31 years.
The meeting has been forced by sustained national media scrutiny over the last six months, a 51,000-signature petition illustrating the strength of public feeling, growing cross-party pressure in parliament, and a 90-minute Commons debate last month.
The families say today’s new questions make it impossible for ministers to keep claiming nothing new could emerge from the judge-led inquiry they are seeking.
David Hill, technical advisor to the campaign and author of three books on the crash.
David Hill, former MoD aeronautical engineer and technical advisor to the Chinook Justice Campaign, who has studied the case for the past 31 years, said: “These 225 new questions destroy the argument that there is nothing left to uncover.
“Together with the original 110, they expose how essential evidence was concealed from previous inquiries and demonstrate that the Ministry of Defence has never provided full transparency into the circumstances that led to the deaths of 25 senior intelligence experts and four Special Forces crew.
“The suggestion that no new facts will be uncovered is a deliberate misrepresentation to cover up past wrongdoing. Only a judge-led public inquiry has the powers to compel testimony, access sealed documents and finally establish why 29 people were put on an unairworthy aircraft their own test pilots and engineers were forbidden from flying.”
The MoD repeatedly insists that no new evidence will be uncovered by a new inquiry and that previous inquiries are sufficient.
But the 335 unanswered questions, many based on leaked MoD technical files, internal memos and assessments, and expert analysis demonstrate that the crucial details of how and why the aircraft was authorised remain hidden, including:
Who authorised the mission and at what level decisions were taken?
Why was the unairworthy Chinook Mark 2 chosen for the journey, instead of two Puma helicopters originally tasked for the trip, despite repeated warnings from test pilots and engineers that the Mark 2 was “not to be relied upon in any way whatsoever”.
Why key technical documents including the 1992 Chinook Airworthiness Review Team (CHART) report was withheld from multiple inquiries and former Defence Secretary Liam Fox misled?
Why the aircraft was accepted off contract without certification, breaching MoD rules?
Whether the crew or passengers were informed of the risks?
Andy Tobias, right, with mum Gaynor and older brother Matt at the National Memorial Arboretum on the 31st anniversary of the crash.
Andy Tobias, whose father Lt Col John Tobias was killed in the crash, said: “These 335 questions are certainly not definitive. They are not all we need answered, and the files that are closed for 100 years are only some of the papers we want released. What this long list makes clear, however, is that it is simply untenable for ministers to say there is nothing new to learn.
“We want full transparency, full candour, and to finally start getting to the full truth. We expect nothing less from our meeting with ministers tomorrow. Do they choose to be on the right side of history - or the wrong side of it?
“We hope that the fact that the victims' minister is joining the meeting with MoD ministers is a signal that the government is now ready to follow through on its promise of candour in our case and the others like it.
“We have already built up an unsavoury treasure trove of MoD documents, test pilot warnings, and evidence withheld from earlier investigations which prove my father and 28 others were put on an aircraft the MoD knew to be unairworthy. This is not my opinion. These are facts the Ministry of Defence either ignored, buried or refused to disclose. We have been forced to fight for the truth for 31 years. Now we expect answers.”
The escalation comes after six months of intense public and political momentum which has helped to spark a national conversation about institutional accountability and the treatment of military families.
Last week, the Armed Forces minister Al Carns said he wanted to ensure that the families of lost loved ones get to the truth where they can but, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, suggested that in relation to the Northern Ireland troubles that should be through the Legacy Commission.
The Chinook families firmly reject that course in relation to the 1994 disaster.
Darren Neilly - “Our loved ones must not be misrepresented as victims of the Troubles.” Pic credit: BBC
Darren Neilly, whose father Det Ch Supt Maurice Neilly was killed, said: “Firstly, Al Carns has resolutely ignored us over the past 18 months.
“Secondly, we believe all families deserve the truth. But we want to address this issue head on in case it's suggested our case should be part of the Commisison's work. Our case is not relevant to the Legacy Commission – this is not a legacy issue.
“The Chinook disaster was not a conflict-related incident and our loved ones must not be misrepresented as victims of the troubles. This is about people taking a journey from A to B in an unairworthy helicopter - our loved ones were being transported to a conference. This is about a preventable air crash – a direct result of failings by the MOD. Our family members died in service, not in the line of duty.”
With the Hillsborough Law currently on its passage through parliament, the Government has committed to a new duty of candour on public bodies. Supportive MPs argue that the Chinook case should be the first major test of whether those promises mean anything.
Northern Ireland Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood, who will join the families at the meeting as a representative of cross party support in parliament, said: “If the promise of candour is real, it starts here. Ministers cannot keep repeating the same lines while refusing to answer the families’ questions. A judge-led inquiry and full access to sealed files is the only way to honour those who died and the families who have fought for them.”
The Chinook families are calling on the Prime Minister, with whom they want a face-to-face meeting, to:
Over-rule the MoD and reverse the decision to block a public inquiry
Grant access to ALL files on the Chinook Mark 2 and crash, including those sealed until 2094
Make the Chinook crash the test case for the new Hillsborough Law, officially the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
The families are still awaiting a decision by the High Court on their application for a Judicial Review of the government’s failure to order a public inquiry under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to life.
Mark Stephens, from Howard Kennedy LLP, lawyer for the families, said: “It’s now time for ministers, the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government to step up and to stop standing in the way of a judge-led public inquiry.
“Many of the families are suffering from ambiguous loss – a frozen trauma caused by the failure of the MoD to be transparent about the circumstances surrounding the crash. They seek truth, transparency and a clear commitment to a full, independent public inquiry into why their loved ones were placed on an unairworthy aircraft.”
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To add yours go to www.change.org/JusticeForThe29
Find out more about our Mull of Kintyre Chinook Crash campaign.
