***Press Release from the Mull of Kintyre Group***
9th Anniversary of Chinook Crash to be marked by General Assembly of Church of Scotland debate
On Wednesday 21st May, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will debate the 1994 Chinook crash and decide whether to urge the Government to revisit the case. The debate is expected to take place around 11.30, when the Presbytery of South Argyll will call for the Church to act out of its continuing concern for all the families of those killed in the accident.
The worst military air accident in the United Kingdom during peacetime took the lives of 29 people, including leading members of the Northern Ireland security forces as well as all four crew, on 2nd June 1994. The RAF Board of Inquiry reported inconclusively on the cause of the crash. Controversially, two Air Marshals overturned this Inquiry’s finding and charged the deceased pilots with responsibility for the crash through gross negligence “with absolutely no doubt whatsoever”.
Generated by pastoral concern for the families of all those killed in the crash, the motion, or “Overture”, to the Church’s General Assembly notes the four major inquiries into the accident. Each inquiry has found the Air Marshals’ decision to find the pilots guilty unsound. The most recent of these, the House of Lords Select Committee, concluded unanimously that the Air Marshals were not justified in finding that pilot negligence caused the crash. In November 2002, the Government whipped the debate on the Select Committee’s report, and defeated a motion proposed by Lord Chalfont to overturn the verdict against the pilots and finally clear their names.
James Arbuthnot MP, Chairman of the Westminster cross-Party Mull of Kintyre Group, said today:
“That such a good and just body as the Church of Scotland considers this a matter still requiring debate and a satisfactory conclusion after almost nine years is of immense significance. We had hoped the Government might have acted on the conclusions of the Lords Select Committee, but were dismayed at its failure to do so. Surely it must now realize that the campaign to clear the pilots names will continue, and is broadening its support. This is an issue that will not disappear.”
John Cook and Mike Tapper, the fathers of the two pilots killed in the crash said:
“Over the past nine years, Roddy McNidder, the minister at Campbeltown, has remained a firm supporter of both our families and the families of all those killed in this appalling accident. We have watched inquiry after inquiry as they disagree with the only two men who accuse our sons of gross negligence. We continue to hope that the Government will act to overturn this inustice, and so put an end to the suffering we all continue to endure.”
…ends…
Notes for editors
The Church of Scotland is Scotland’s national Church, and one of the largest organizations in the country, tracing its history to the Evangelism of Scotland around 400 AD. It is organized on the basis of “courts”, of which the General Assembly is the highest. 400 ministers, 400 elders, and a small number of deacons meet each May to discuss matters of national concern.
The Right Honourable James Arbuthnot MP is Chairman of the Mull of Kintyre Group, a cross-Party group of MPs and Peers working to overturn the verdict of gross negligence found against the pilots. He is the Conservative Member for North East Hampshire. Shortly after the crash, when serving as a Defence Minister, he became convinced that a grave miscarriage of justice occurred in the condemnation of the pilots. He publicly apologized during a June 2000 debate for supporting the two reviewing officers of the original RAF Board of Inquiry, and has worked ever since to help clear the pilots names.
Kind regards to all
Brian
"Justice has no expiry date" - John Cook