Families of these killed in Chinook catastrophe blast ‘dishonest and deceitful’ MOD | UK | News | EUROtoday

Furious households of the 29 service personnel killed within the RAF Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre have accused Keir Starmer and the Ministry of Defence of ‘dismissive, dishonest and deceitful’ therapy.

The households of these killed have written to the Prime Minister after feedback made by ministers, which they are saying contradict guarantees made to them final 12 months. In the letter despatched to Downing Street at present, they write: “After 31 years, Ministers met with us last December. They looked us in the eye, acknowledged the service of our loved ones, and assured us that the evidence we presented would be properly considered. Those assurances now ring hollow.”

It comes after the Ministry of Defence issued an announcement 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 assertion to the Yorkshire Post, issued with out warning, represents a “slap in the face” to them as victims of the catastrophe, and is the precise reverse of the “ongoing dialogue” they had been promised.

The assertion was additionally issued lower than 48 hours after households met the victims minister to boost formal issues concerning the Ministry of Defence’s continued use of what they describe as deceptive and distressing language.

Twenty-five intelligence specialists and 4 particular forces crew had been killed when the Chinook helicopter crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, en route from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George close to Inverness, in June 1994.

The incident was initially blamed on pilot error earlier than this was overturned in 2011. The households have lengthy referred to as for a public inquiry into the incident, following the uncovering of quite a few security issues within the weeks and months earlier than the flight.

Jenni Balmer-Hornby, whose father Anthony was a kind of killed, mentioned: “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.”

The households argue that whereas ministers are advancing laws designed to stop institutional cover-ups, the continued dealing with of the Chinook case suggests these ideas should not being utilized in follow.

They at the moment are calling on the Prime Minister to intervene straight to make sure that their proof is correctly thought-about and that significant dialogue takes place.

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.”

An RAF spokesperson mentioned: “The Chinook Justice Campaign have submitted a formal claim to the MOD for a Judicial Review of our decision to reject the demand for a judge-led inquiry into the circumstances of the crash.

“This process is ongoing and our focus is on responding to that claim and to the allegations contained within it. We are unable to comment further at this time.”