Re the headline
"MoD takes blame for 14 military deaths in Nimrod blast"
While such headlines may give people a little comfort, I fear that such words are a little counter-intuitive. The legal beagles may say that 'blame' is apportioned to the MoD (damn lawyers!). It may have been better if the media had said;
"Inadequate and poorly funded MoD airworthiness processes were a major contributory cause in the accident of XV230. No blame is yet attached to the personnel within that process".
Unfortunately, that does NOT grab the headlines!
Now, if it seems that the MoD is accepting responsibility for not implementing their own regulations in the case of the Nimrod, perhaps the Hercules and Chinook are similarly tainted? If the process of flight safety and accident investigation is to hold water, that possibility must be investigated to prevent recurrence of accidents such as that befell XV230, XV197 and maybe, ZD576.
Additionally, further 'open and honest' investigations may decide if anyone within the airworthiness process was deemed to be 'negligent' - for example, repeatedly ignoring advice on the failings of their system. I suspect that people like Tuc would have many pertinent points to make to any such investigation. I also suspect that the truth will out.