Furious Chinook families accuse MoD of “a slap in the face” after media statement dismisses dossier of evidence and firmly contradicts ministerial promises

Campaigners write to Prime Minister and victims minister demanding urgent intervention after MoD’s ‘dismissive, dishonest and deceitful’ treatment and “utter contempt” for them as victims .

Read the letter to the Prime Minister here.

Press Release

Furious families of the 29 service personnel killed in the RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have written an angry letter to the Prime Minister after the Ministry of Defence issued a public statement which they say directly contradicts promises made by ministers.

The intervention comes after a meeting in December 2025, the first time in 31 years that Defence Ministers had met the families, where they were assured that new evidence on the circumstances surrounding the crash would be properly reviewed and that there would be ongoing dialogue.

Instead, the families have received no meaningful response. They were told in January it could take months to review the evidence, but have heard nothing since.

At the weekend, the Ministry of Defence issued a statement to the media claiming that “there has not been evidence presented which would shed significant new light on the cause of the crash”.

Families say the statement to the Yorkshire Post, issued without warning, represents a “slap in the face” to them as victims of the disaster, and is the exact opposite of the “ongoing dialogue” they were promised.

The statement was also issued less than 48 hours after families met the victims minister to raise formal concerns about the Ministry of Defence’s continued use of what they describe as misleading and distressing language.

In their letter to the Prime Minister, the Chinook Justice Campaign says the latest statement has caused “immense pain to the families who have already endured over three decades without answers.”

The letter states: “We also want to express our utter disbelief that only days after pleading with the victims minister to represent us - and explaining in clear terms the sense of being repeatedly gaslit by the Ministry of Defence - we find ourselves once again subjected to the very same treatment.

“When we met her, we likened the way we are being treated to a victim of abuse being forced to ask the perpetrator to investigate the wrongdoing. This latest statement from the Ministry of Defence illustrates that point starkly. To be met with such disregard, so soon after the complaint we made, is nothing short of contempt for the families and for the experiences we have so plainly set out.”

Families say ministers are fully aware that their campaign is not about establishing the technical cause of the crash, which may never be known, but about the circumstances and decisions that led to it, including evidence that the aircraft was not airworthy.

Despite this, they say the Ministry of Defence continues to focus on “cause”, a framing they challenged directly in their December meeting and again in a formal complaint last week.

Jenni Balmer-Hornby, whose father Anthony was one of those killed, said: “You have got to be kidding us. We sat down with three Defence Ministers for the first time in 31 years and were promised that our evidence would be properly reviewed and that there would be ongoing dialogue.

“Instead, we get a statement to the media, not to us, repeating the very language we had just formally complained about. It is worryingly dismissive of us as victims, is deceitful and dishonest, it’s a slap in the face for all of us and shows a complete lack of respect.

“To issue that statement within 48 hours of our meeting with the victims minister is not just disappointing, it is unfair, unacceptable and unfathomable.”

Susan Phoenix, whose husband Ian was killed, added: “Ministers know full well this is not about the cause of the crash. We have said that repeatedly. This is about the circumstances, the decisions that were taken, and why our loved ones were allowed to board an aircraft we have evidence was not airworthy.

“To continue to misrepresent our position in this way feels deliberate and deeply disrespectful.”

In the letter, the families warn that the government’s approach risks undermining its stated commitment to transparency and accountability, particularly in the context of the proposed Hillsborough Law.

They argue that while ministers are advancing legislation designed to prevent institutional cover-ups, the continued handling of the Chinook case suggests those principles are not being applied in practice.

The families are now calling on the Prime Minister to intervene directly to ensure that their evidence is properly considered and that meaningful dialogue takes place.

A judicial review application into the government’s failure to order a public inquiry into the crash under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act has been lodged at the High Court. A decision on that application is expected soon.

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Thank you to all who have added your support on our petition, so far.

To add yours go to www.change.org/JusticeForThe29

Find out more about our Mull of Kintyre Chinook Crash campaign.