Joint Statement of Support for the Chinook Justice Campaign

Written By Tim Reid

To: The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence

October 8th, 2025.

We are colleagues of those who tragically lost their lives in the RAF Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre on 2 June 1994.

Represented by the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association, the Superintendent’s Association of Northern Ireland, the Intelligence Corps Association, and the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire (RGBW) and Rifles Association, we are writing to publicly declare our support for the Chinook Justice Campaign led by the families of the victims.

We call upon the Ministry of Defence to release the documents relating to the crash which we believe have been unjustifiably sealed for 100 years. We further call for a proper, judge-led public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding this disaster.

As service personnel, we are held to standards of honour, integrity, courage, and good conduct. Our colleagues and friends who perished in the Chinook crash embodied these values. They put themselves at risk in pursuit of peace in Northern Ireland, and we will never know how many lives were saved because of their selfless service.

It is beyond our comprehension that these individuals were ordered to fly in an aircraft that was reported to be unairworthy and described as ‘positively dangerous’. The very least we owe to those who serve—and to the families who mourn them—is an honest and fearless investigation. Those responsible for placing lives in jeopardy must be held to the same standards of integrity, accountability, and transparency that are expected of every service member.

We now appeal to the Labour Government to fulfil its promise of a Duty of Candour, to honour the memory of the fallen, and to heed the call of their families: release the sealed documents and initiate an independent, judge-led public inquiry.

Only through truth and justice can we properly honour their sacrifice.

Yours faithfully,

  • The Police Federation for Northern Ireland.

  • The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association.

  • The Intelligence Corps Association.

  • The Superintendents Association of Northern Ireland.

  • The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire (RGBW) and Rifles Association.

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

Tim Reid
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