Keir Starmer rejects call for Chinook crash inquiry

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls for a judge-led inquiry into an RAF Chinook helicopter crash in 1994.

Four crew and 25 passengers were killed when the helicopter, carrying senior security personnel from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George near Inverness, went down in foggy conditions over the Mull of Kintyre.

Families of the victims had wanted High Court judges to review information they said was not considered in previous investigations.

In a letter to the families, Sir Keir has said that a public inquiry would not “bring any greater certainty” and would not be “in the public interest”.

Andy Tobias, who was eight when his 41-year-old father Lt Col John Tobias was killed in the crash, called the prime minister’s response “utterly pathetic”.

He vowed that the families, , who have formed the Chinook Justice Campaign, would “see the UK government in court”.

All of those on board the helicopter – including personnel from MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Army and RAF – were killed when it crashed.

The incident was initially blamed on pilot error, before the two pilots were exonerated in 2011.

The families of the victims called for the release of documents that have been sealed until 2094 by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The campaigners hoped it would offer new information on the airworthiness of the helicopter.

They claimed the UK government had breached its human rights obligations by failing to order a public inquiry.

But Sir Keir said the MoD had advised him that records they hold offered “no insights” into the crash, and that they had been sealed to protect personal data.

He said his government was “committed to transparency and accountability”.

The prime minister added: “Given the extensive investigations already conducted into the crash, including two independent, judge-led processes, inquiries by both House of Commons and House of Lords select committees, and the original RAF board of inquiry, I do not believe that a new inquiry can bring any greater certainty or is in the public interest.”

Mr Tobias said the Prime Minister had “slammed the door in our face”.

He added: “He says the government is committed to transparency and accountability, but on the other hand – we’ll just seal away the files for a century and tell us bereaved families there’s nothing to see here.

“His response is utterly pathetic.”

Mr Tobias added: “But we will not give up. And we will see the MoD and UK government in court.”

A spokesperson for the MoD said: “The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died.

“The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent judge-led review.”

They reiterated that the sealed record contained personal records and that the release of the information would breach data protection rules.