Public ‘sick of cover-ups’ at MoD, says Chinook crash campaigner

By Nick Forbes (PA)

Calls for a public inquiry into the 1994 Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash have seen a surge in support in the wake of revelations about the Afghan data leak, with one campaigner saying it shows the public are “sick of cover-ups and secrecy” at the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

All 29 military and intelligence personnel on board RAF Chinook ZD576 were killed when the aircraft crashed in foggy weather en route from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George near Inverness on June 2, 1994.

The bereaved families have called for a judge-led inquiry into the incident, which was initially blamed on pilot error before this was overturned in 2011.

A petition calling for an inquiry saw a surge in support last week after campaigners took to social media to criticise efforts to cover up the leak of thousands of names of Afghans who had helped UK troops, which they said was another case of the MoD “covering up its own mess”.

Chris Cook, whose pilot brother Rick was killed in the 1994 crash, said: “This Afghan cover-up shows that the MoD hasn’t just lost its moral compass but has managed to avoid all democratic accountability and scrutiny.

“It hid this data leak from the very people who are meant to keep it in line – the Intelligence and Security Committee, which had a legal right to see the intelligence assessments.”

He added: “The MoD has become the Ministry of Deceit. It lies, it obfuscates and it squirrels away its mistakes until it is found out – just as it has with the Chinook crash.

“It took us 16 years to clear my brother’s name, and all that time the MoD claimed information didn’t exist – until we found it and then they questioned how we got the information.

“The trouble with this whole case over 31 years, and so many other MoD cases – the helicopter cancer cases, the nuclear vets, is that so much information has been suppressed.

“It seems that the Ministry of Deceit is unable to uphold the values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality which they expect our armed forces to serve with.

“It’s time for truth and transparency at the MoD and it’s time for the Prime Minister to step in and clear up the MoD’s many outstanding cases of deception, with a legal duty of candour imposed.”

In a social media post, the Chinook Justice group said: “#Coverup appears to be the mantra of the British state… with the MoD at the centre of it. Again.”

In another it said the petition had got the “zoomies” as the number of signatories doubled in the space of eight hours to more than 22,000.

Andy Tobias, who was eight when his father Lt Col John Tobias was killed in the crash, said: “Clearly, we have touched a nerve with the British public who are sick of cover-ups and secrecy at the MoD.

“Like many other families – from Hillsborough to sub-postmasters, the infected blood scandal to nuclear veterans and MoD helicopter cancer victims, and now Afghan families – we should not have to fight tooth and nail for truth, transparency and justice from the Government.

“That’s why we are calling for a legal duty of candour. Enough is enough.”

Following an appeal by Mr Tobias, former defence secretary Sir Liam Fox has agreed to meet the bereaved families to discuss the matter.

The news comes on the back of the former minister’s offer to intervene on their behalf with the MoD and “if necessary” the Prime Minister to push for an inquiry, as reported in the Daily Mail newspaper.

The MoD has been approached for comment.

The RAF Chinook helicopter crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 (Chris Bacon/PA)