Chinook Crash: Minister to challenge MOD over 'accident' label and raise case to PM
The UK government's Victims Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, has agreed to raise concerns with the Ministry of Defence over the language used in public statements referencing the 1994 Mull of Kintyre RAF Chinook crash.
Campaigners said the minister acknowledged that official statements had wrongly suggested previous inquiries had fully examined all the circumstances surrounding the crash, and that describing the disaster as an "accident" had caused further distress to the families.
Ms Davies-Jones also agreed to raise the families' case with the Prime Minister, recognising the ongoing trauma they have endured after more than three decades seeking the truth.
The commitments come after the families filed a formal complaint with the MOD, setting out in detail the human impact of the disaster and its aftermath with the Victims Minister, including what they describe as years of unanswered questions, lack of transparency and repeated re-traumatisation.
The group, with Sorcha Eastwood, the MP leading the cross-party group supporting the families, have pressed for a response to the dossier of evidence that they presented to three MOD ministers, along with Ms Davies-Jones, in December.
The dossier, which includes official MOD papers uncovered by the campaign, details the Chinook Mk2 aircraft's lack of airworthiness and is accompanied by 335 unanswered questions about the crash.
'We need honesty, transparency and basic decency'
Speaking publicly for the first time, Shan Gregory-Smith, whose husband Richard was killed in the crash, addressed the minister directly.
"In a democracy in the 21st century, this should have been resolved long ago," she said. "We need honesty, transparency and basic decency from the state.
"Our loved ones were loyal public servants. That loyalty has never been returned to us.
"For more than 30 years, we have simply been asking for the truth. That is what any bereaved family deserves."
Describing the long-term impact on families, she added: "You need to understand why someone has died to begin to come to terms with it. That has been denied to us for decades.
"I am now in my seventies. Would you want to wait 32 years to understand how your loved one died?"
No clear answers
Gaynor Tobias, whose husband John was killed in the crash, said: "I was 44 when my husband died, with two young boys aged 10 and eight.
"Being told your husband is dead and having to tell your children their father is not coming back is the worst thing imaginable.
"That grief has been made worse by the lack of truth and transparency. We have never been given clear answers, and that has stayed with us and our children throughout their lives."
She added: "We are all victims. We have suffered loss, trauma and decades of uncertainty.
"The Ministry of Defence investigated itself. It marked its own homework. There was no independence, and that is why we are still fighting today."
Niven Phoenix, the son of Ian Phoenix, who lost his life in the crash, said: "We are grateful to the minister for listening and for recognising the trauma these families have been through.
"But this now needs to lead to action. We cannot continue to see language used by the Ministry of Defence that we have repeatedly explained is misleading and deeply distressing.
"We hope the minister will now take this forward with the Prime Minister and ensure that our case is finally addressed."
The families, supported by Sorcha Eastwood, said the Chinook case should be among the first to which the Hillsborough Law is applied, which mandates that public bodies tell the truth and cooperate with investigations.
They argue it is exactly the kind of injustice the duty of candour was designed to address.
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