Secretary of State for Defence replies to McGrigor on Kintyre Chinook crash review

Dr Liam Fox, Secretary of State for Defence has replied to Jamie McGrigor, Highlands and Islands MSP on the matter of the material to be presented to the coming Review of the judgments handed down by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) into the crash on 2nd June 1994 of an RAF Chinook Mk 2 helicopter on the Mull of Kintyre.

Jamie McGrigor had got a commitment from Dr Fox, before the election, that if the Conservatives were in a position to do so, they would institute such an enquiry – and they are doing what they promised.

We have had concerns about the intention to hold rthe review in private and, at our request, Jamie McGrigor has communicated these concerns to the Defence Secretary. Jim Mather, Argyll’s MSP, has also asked his colleague, Westminster SNP Leader, Angus Robertson, to press for the review to be held in public.

We understand that a private review may be the best that Dr Fox has been able to negotiate with an MoD whose conduct in this case bears little scrutiny – but we feel that the restoration of public confidence will not be achievable unless the review is held in public.

The reputations of the two pilots who died – with two fellow crew and twenty five passengers from the intelligence services – when their aircraft flew into the hillside near Machrihanish Lighthouse on the Mull were tarnished when, on no evidence,they were found guilty of gros negligence.

The aircraft they were flying – and had wanted not to fly – was fitted with the controversial and known-to-be-dangerously-unreliable FADEC engine control system. This was a piece of American (Boeing) designed software which controlled the engine with no manual override for pilots in any emergency. It had defaultd and caused terrifying experiences often enough for Boscombe to have formally warned the MoD that it should be taken out of service – before the pilots concerned – Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Rick Cook – were ordered to fly the aircraft that day.

Jamie McGrigor has been assiduous in maintaining a watching brief on the situation, as have Alan Reid MP and Jim Mather MSP, Jamie McGrigor’s political colleagues in Argyll.

This is an issue that matters to Argyll – it left a scar on its face and a conscious wrong in it psyche. We can all only hope that the Review comes to a conclusion that, at last squares with the evidence and with natural justice.

Here is Dr Fox’s response to Jamie McGrigor: reply to jamie McGRIGOR 001