Families demand 100-year seal on MoD files is unlocked ahead of 31st anniversary

The families of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have today demanded the full release of documents which have been locked away for 100 years by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

It comes ahead of the 31st anniversary of the tragedy.

The unusual sealing of archive material for such a long period has raised further questions and concerns among relatives about the circumstances surrounding the crash, which was the RAF’s worst peacetime loss of life.

Twenty nine people were killed, all 25 passengers and four crew, when RAF Chinook ZD576 crashed on June 2nd 1994. 

The two dead pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were wrongly accused of gross negligence - the equivalent of manslaughter. It was only after a 17-year campaign for justice by the families that the UK Government finally overturned the verdict. 

But campaigners firmly believe there is a continuing cover up by the MoD over the accident - they point to the fact that the files have been locked away for 100 years and continuing obfuscation by the MoD and the UK Government.

Andy Tobias was 8 at the time of the crash and his brother Matt was 10. Their father Lt Col John Tobias, 41, an intelligence officer, was killed. 

Speaking publicly for the first time, Andy, a product manager from Watford, said: “I lost my father, and part of my childhood, because he was put on board a helicopter that had been deemed unairworthy and should never have taken off. In my view, it’s tantamount to corporate manslaughter. I’ve been tortured since because I have been denied any explanation of why, and those unanswered questions I carry with me every day.

“I have tried for many years to put this crash, and my family’s unnecessary loss, behind me - but learning that the MoD has sealed away the archive until after all of us will be long gone seriously raises my concerns about what really happened and who knew what. Why the secrecy? Why did my father and 28 others die? We want answers.”

A BBC documentary - Chinook: Zulu Delta 576 -  (available to watch below )last year raised additional questions about the crash, the circumstances, and the failure to bring those responsible - including the RAF Air Marshals who wrongly blamed the pilots - to justice.

Nearly all of the 29 families involved have now joined the Chinook Justice Campaign, backed by renowned law firm Howard Kennedy, which has spent the last year urging the UK government to hold a judge-led public inquiry. But ministers have so far dismissed their concerns, and have, in fact, refused even to meet the families. 

Esme Sparks, was seven-years old and her younger siblings were aged just two when their father Major Gary Sparks was killed in the crash. 

Her mother, sister and brother are all part of the Chinook Justice Campaign. They only learned about the archive files being locked for 100 years in the documentary, and that cover up raises more questions than answers.

Also speaking publicly for the first time, Esme, a secondary school teacher, from Darlington, County Durham, said: “It was a total shock to watch the documentary and to learn about my Daddy and the questions regarding the crash, and then to learn about the files. Why on earth would they be sealed for so long if there was not something being hidden? Who or what is being protected? My whole family wants answers and action because my Daddy was denied his right to life - put in danger by the MoD on an aircraft deemed not airworthy.

“We are furious that the government and the MoD is refusing to listen or to meet us. Our request for a meeting with the Defence Minister was summarily dismissed with platitudes. What happened to their duty of candour promises?” 

The helicopter was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army en route from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to attend a conference at Fort George near Inverness in Scotland. The two pilots were both United Kingdom Special Forces pilots, and the entire crew had exemplary service records.

Before the accident, the MoD’s testing centre at Boscombe Down had declared the Boeing Chinook Mk2 helicopters unairworthy, and the same assessors confirmed matters had deteriorated on 2 June 1994.

The campaign formally requested a public inquiry in October last year. Despite the Government's commitments over Hillsborough Law and the Duty of Candour on public bodies, Alistair Carns, Minister for Veterans and People, rejected the request. 

Solicitor Mark Stephens CBE, from Howard Kennedy, said:“The MoD’s response was appallingly dismissive, and failed entirely to engage with the very serious and detailed concerns raised by the families. There has been a comprehensive failure of successive governments to understand the basic human need for the bereaved to understand why their loved ones died and why they had to suffer the impacts on each of their lives. This omission is cruel to people who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the state.

“In the absence of definitive answers from a comprehensive inquiry the families have been faced with seeds of facts garnished with speculation and conjecture: they had to wait 17 years for official confirmation that the deaths were not caused by pilot error as had been originally and incorrectly officially stated. The families know that the plane had been grounded because of technical flaws with the aircraft and bugs in its computer systems. but no explanation as to why they were commanded to travel on an aircraft that had been grounded everywhere else as unsafe to fly?

“Now the Troubles in Ireland are long since over, there can’t - after 30 years - be any operational need for secrecy. It is now time to repay their sacrifices with truth and accountability.

“After the Government’s promises on Hillsborough Law which places a duty of candour on public servants and should hold them to account, the families are obviously shocked at the government’s unreasonable response. We continue to call for a judge-led public inquiry and we will consider all legal options.”

On the eve of the 30th anniversary last year, a furious row broke out after the MoD failed to mark the event with an official memorial service to which families expected to attend.

Dr Susan Phoenix, whose husband Ian was one of the senior RUC officers killed in the tragedy and who has campaigned tirelessly since then, said: “Those of us who are not dead will not stop asking questions. I refuse to wither on the vine for the comfort of unconscionable officials who let my husband and his colleagues die in a non-airworthy helicopter.”