PSNI Chief Constable backs Chinook crash families’ campaign for truth and transparency, urging NI Secretary to “exert influence”

Jon Boutcher points to a “lack of official transparency” from government - as five other police and military associations add their support for a judge-led public inquiry

The Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has given his strong backing to the families of those killed in the RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre, who are seeking a judge-led public inquiry and for the files on the tragedy to be unsealed.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher agreed to a request to meet some of the families recently and says he was “struck by the depth of their ongoing concerns” about the circumstances surrounding the disaster.

His comments come as five other police and military organisations also offer their support to the Chinook Justice Campaign - calling the decision to seal the files for 100 years “unjustifiable” and demanding an independent judge-led public inquiry to honour the memories of the 29 service personnel who died.

The crash killed 25 senior intelligence experts and four Special Forces crew. The Ministry of Defence’s decision to seal the files for 100 years has further heightened suspicions of a cover-up about the circumstances leading up to the crash.

The Chief Constable, who formerly led Bedfordshire Police, has now written to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, urging him to “consider exerting any influence you are able upon cabinet colleagues and government officials, to enable the families to get answers to the many questions they have.”

Calls for a public inquiry have been rejected both by the UK Prime Minister and the Ministry of Defence and the families are now pursuing a Judicial Review at the High Court under Article II of the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to life.

Jon Boutcher’s letter states: “I strongly believe that as Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, I owe a duty of care to both the memory of those fallen officers and to their families. Consistent with that duty of care, I intend to lend my voice to their appeal for transparency and openness.

“As you know, ten of those who died were serving police officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. Even to that resilient organisation, long accustomed to suddenly losing colleagues in violent circumstances, this was a shocking tragedy still remembered today. The devastating impact on each family is something that you and I can never truly understand.

“The recent decision by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to seal the files on the crash for 100 years has been particularly difficult for the families to understand. I confess to not understanding the justification for such a dramatic position in a democracy where we should champion openness and transparency.

“It is clear to me that a lack of official transparency - whether perceived or actual - is adding to the suffering of these families. I have been struck by the many parallels to my work on legacy investigations where secrecy about even uncontroversial material promotes conspiracy theories, distresses families and hinders their ability to achieve any form of closure.”

Boutcher was appointed Chief Constable of PSNI in 2023 and has emphasised the importance of transparency in public life.

In a separate Joint Statement of Support for the families, sent to the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary, The Police Federation for Northern Ireland, The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association, The Intelligence Corps Association, the Superintendents' Association of Northern Ireland and the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire and Rifles Association state: “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.”

Ray Fitzsimons, chairman of the Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association, and whose brother died in the crash, said: “The Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association fully supports the Chinook Justice Campaign in seeking to overturn the Ministry of Defence decision to lock away the documents pertaining to the crash for one hundred years.

“This Association also joins the families of those killed in demanding a public inquiry into the cause of the crash whereby evidence that the MOD was fully aware of the dangers posed by this unsafe helicopter can be made public.”

“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.”

Des Conroy, from South Belfast, whose father Detective Chief Superintendent Desmond Conroy, 55, was killed in the crash, said: “Our campaign is gathering support from all quarters and we are honoured today to have the backing of the Chief Constable who has made transparency and truth a hallmark of his service.

“On top of that, to have such strong support from the police and military associations also gives us a huge amount of strength to continue our fight for justice for our loved ones.

“We now have cross party political support, we have more than 41,000 members of the public backing us, and we have former ministers saying that it is time for the truth to come out. Why were our loved ones placed by the MoD on an unsafe, unairworthy and totally unacceptable aircraft and sent to their deaths? That is what we all want to know and deserve to know.”

The families have also written to Louise Sandher-Jones, the new Minister for Veterans to seek her support - as an intelligence corps veteran herself. They have not received a response.

Key evidence which has been leaked to the families - and available on the Chinook Justice Campaign website – confirms that the Chinook Mark 2 aircraft was not airworthy and should never have taken off on that fateful flight, killing all on board.

The MOD has previously confirmed that the trials aircraft, grounded the day before the crash on 2nd June 1994, would only have been grounded at Boscombe Down because it was not airworthy and Lord Philip’s Review confirmed this was “mandated” on the RAF.

A Change.org petition – change.org/JusticeForThe29 - set up by the families and which calls on the Prime Minister to intervene and overrule the MoD by agreeing to a judge-led public inquiry, has attracted more than 41,000 signatures.

While the MoD claims a new inquiry will uncover no new evidence, no inquiry to date - whether individually or collectively - has properly examined why the families’ loved ones were placed aboard an aircraft which MOD test engineers at Boscombe Down warned was “positively dangerous” due to fatal flaws in its software and should be grounded.

Details of the Chinook Justice Campaign can be found at chinookjusticecampaign.co.uk and the petition can be found at www.change.org/JusticeForThe29