While I understand the reluctance of people to been seen to supply answers to DV, it must be obvious that he and others are, effectively, acting as investigative journalists simply because MoD has been caught, yet again, lying and withholding vital evidence in a case where deaths could have been avoided.
I don’t apologise for repeating myself here. What has been uncovered, by asking these questions, are not revelations. It is well known in the MoD that, for nearly two decades, the implementation of airworthiness regulations has been systematically underfunded, to the point where senior staffs have ruled it is effectively optional. But this fact, and all the evidence underpinning it, has been kept in-house fairly successfully by MoD. And people – your colleagues – have demonstrably died because of it. The facts are now being exposed to those who have most to lose – their lives.
DV, TD and others here have, through asking pointed questions, exposed this gross and criminal abrogation of duty. Sometimes the question goes down a rabbit hole, but others have culminated in Mr Browne’s admission to the House last month that MoD was liable. I say again – read the QQ and BAeS reports and ask yourself if you would treat your pushbike this way, never mind an aeroplane.
I’d like to be a fly on certain walls in Whitehall as other parts of MoD continue to flatly deny there is a problem, but I’m sure the Coroner will lean toward Mr Browne’s admission when considering this disconnect. This is important – they must not be allowed, yet again, to dismiss this as an isolated case. What I find interesting, and this is purely from a personal perspective, is something that happened in mid-December. For no apparent reason, a key note opening address at a routine briefing (albeit on a large programme) was to be made by a certain person who is well known for treating airworthiness as an option of last resort (and had no knowledge of the subject matter). I thought, you’re a brave man, Q&A should be entertaining. Lo and behold, there followed a table thumping session extolling the virtues of these mandated processes, procedures and regulations which he’d spent 10 years rejecting out of hand. I have no doubt whatsoever that this change of tack was a direct result of the BoI report and Browne’s statement. While this is no comfort to bereaved families (not just Nimrod), I think safety will feature heavily in his domain from now on. I look forward to others following suite. Better still, sack them anyway.
Please, DV’s questions and TD’s quest are prompting very tangible changes in MoD, for the better. Be glad, for the song has no ending.