Looking through the transcript of Wratten being interviewed by Jeremy Paxman the following exchange brought a wry smile
PAXMAN; Why did your own investigating officers then not feel that they were sufficiently confident there was no doubt whatsoever? . .SIR WILLIAM WRATTEN:. .These are young officers whose experience does not match that of their senior commanders, which is why there are senior commanders, charged to discharge that particular responsibility. .PAXMAN; There have been now three inquiries into the causes of this crash. Two of them have concluded that there isn't sufficient evidence to say there was no doubt whatsoever the pilots were at fault. There is another one in which, as I say, the initial investigating officers also felt that. It came down to you and your colleagues. . .SIR WILLIAM WRATTEN:. .That was our responsibility to reach a conclusion on these matters. The other two investigations you quote, the PAC's and the Scottish fatal accident inquiry, rejected the option of calling my colleagues and I to give them evidence. And one has to ask why they pursued such a course of action. . .PAXMAN:. .It doesn't make them invalid because they failed to call a particular witness who thought he ought to have been called. . .SIR WILLIAM WRATTEN:. .Well, to my mind, they are entirely invalid for that very reason. I have not had the opportunity to explain to them precisely why I reached the conclusions I did, nor have I had the chance to invite them to explain their analysis of the essential elements of evidence which are in front of them. . .PAXMAN:. .Sir William, I suggest to you that is a position of some arrogance.
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/events/newsnight/newsid_1050000/1050467.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/events/newsnight/newsid_1050000/1050467.stm</a>
If the PAC and Scottish inquiry were invalid because they had the temerity not to invite Wratten to give evidence, the fact that he was invited to the Lords select committee suggests he accepts their findings as valid.
Percy
Do take the time to read the conclusion to the Lords report. I intended to quote from it to you but found that every paragraph had something that showed how flawed the mindset of these two men.
Take particular notice of what the Lords say about the test of negligence. This has been stated in many of the postings but you owe it to yourself to read and think about what is contained in the Lords conclusion.