Families to meet UK government ministers

The son of a man killed in a Chinook helicopter crash in Scotland more than 30 years ago has said he is optimistic ahead of the families meeting UK government ministers for the first time.

Four crew and 25 passengers were killed when the helicopter, carrying senior security personnel from RAF Aldergrove to Fort George near Inverness, went down in June 1994.

The families of victims have long campaigned for a judge-led public inquiry into the crash, which the prime minister has rejected.

Des Conroy whose father Desmond, a detective chief superintendent in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), died in the crash, said families want the “truth” about what happened to their loved ones.

Families of those killed in the crash will meet three ministers from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), as well as the Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones in London on Tuesday.

Mr Conroy said the families welcome the meeting, and that he was hopeful the victims minister’s presence is a signal from the government that it is “ready to fully commit to transparency, honesty and candor” in their case.

“We believe it’s simply untenable for ministers to tell us there’s nothing new to learn, nothing further to explain,” he told BBC News NI’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

Mr Conroy said he was hopeful to come out of the meeting to not only feel he was listened to by the ministers, but that they would be willing to take action.

“All we want is the truth,” he said.

“These 29 people should not have been put aboard this aircraft and I’m only here for my father, to try and get him the truth.”

He added that he was 21 when his father was killed, and this had caused devastation to the “tight-knit family unit”.

In a statement in October, an MoD spokesperson said the crash was a “tragic accident” and that “the lack of certainty” about the crash had added to the distress for families.

However, the spokesperson added it had provided a “detailed and considered response” stating why it cannot support a new public inquiry.

“It’s unlikely that a public inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence,” the spokesperson said.

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

Twenty-nine people, four crew and 25 intelligence experts – including personnel from MI5, the RUC, the Army and RAF – were killed when RAF Chinook ZD576, which had taken off from RAF Aldergrove, struck a hillside in foggy conditions over the Mull of Kintyre on 2 June 1994.

Everyone on board was killed.

The crash was initially blamed on pilot error, a finding that was overturned in 2011.

Documents related to the incident have been sealed by the MoD until 2094, although families of the victims had wanted High Court judges to review information.