Key facts
- Families of victims of the 1994 RAF Chinook crash are seeking a judicial review to compel the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to release sealed files.
- The crash on the Mull of Kintyre killed 25 intelligence experts and four special forces crew.
- The initial finding of pilot error was overturned in 2011.
- Families are demanding a judge-led public inquiry and access to documents sealed for up to 100 years.
- The government's argument is that the families have come too late to pursue an independent review.
- The families' legal team argues that the government's reliance on delay and secrecy is unjust and contrary to principles of transparency.
Families of victims of the 1994 RAF Chinook helicopter crash are pursuing a legal challenge to compel the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to release sealed documents and hold a public inquiry into the disaster. The helicopter, carrying 25 intelligence experts and four special forces crew, crashed on the Mull of Kintyre en route from RAF Aldergrove to Fort George. The initial finding of pilot error was overturned in 2011, but families argue that crucial information, including details about the airworthiness of the Mark 2 helicopter, has been withheld and that some files remain sealed for 100 years.
A High Court hearing is scheduled to determine if the families can proceed with a Judicial Review. The government's position is that the families have come too late to initiate an independent review, a stance the families and their legal representatives argue is unjust. Niven Phoenix, whose father died in the crash, stated that the government's argument that it is too late "cannot be allowed to win," emphasizing that this case is about whether any family can obtain justice when a public body withholds information.
Mark Stephens, the solicitor representing the families, highlighted that the government's argument essentially suggests that prolonged state secrecy should extinguish a family's right to question the circumstances of a flight that may have had unresolved airworthiness concerns. He stressed that this approach is "morally indefensible" and cannot be allowed to stand in a democracy governed by law. The families only united to form a single campaign in 2024, which they attribute to practical realities of being geographically dispersed and lacking information and organizational capacity until recently.
Previously, Sir Keir Starmer informed the families that the MoD had advised him that their records offered no insights into the crash and that a new inquiry would not be in the public interest, despite a petition with over 25,000 signatures. The families' legal team argues that the government's reliance on delay and secrecy rewards such practices and undermines the principles of transparency and accountability, particularly in light of the Hillsborough Law, which aims to ensure public officials tell the truth during inquiries.