It was the day after the accident that Jeremy Hanley told the assembled press that as armed forces minister he would ensure the investigation was prompt and the answer would be found forthwith. Fourteen years on, he, his boss Malcolm Rifkind and his boss' boss John Major all say the answer that was found - gross negligence - was wrong and the findings against Jon and Rick must be set aside. Sir John in particular is supreme in his clarity on this point.
Almost all who served in office now publicly disagree with the finding they were unable to change. Give him a couple of weeks but Des Browne would be a fine interview for Jon Snow. I think he did want to change it, like his predecessors but couldn't. And it is that terrifying gut conclusion that worries me most. Who is running the MoD? Elected officials or the permanent government of Whitehall?
I vote for a dignified ramping up of the campaign. Brian is right - this isn't going away. The MoD know it too but are given a break every time the SoS changes. It's Yes Minister, the gilded version. When I helped brief Crispin Blunt, Rob Key and James Arbuthnot three years after the tragedy, they were stunned by the submission. The permanent government had never given them the information and they, God Bless them, have fought tooth and nail in opposition to affect change, to right this wrong.
I say put all the intervening Parliamentarians who have been exposed to the FULL briefing before a microphone. Let us hear from them again publicly. Almost to a man (and in the Lords, women) they know AP3207 was neither applied nor met.