Families of the victims of the 1994 RAF Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre have reiterated calls for a full public inquiry, alleging that the truth is being withheld. The incident, which killed 25 intelligence experts and four special forces crew, was initially blamed on pilot error before this was overturned in 2011.
Families Demand Justice
Des Conroy, whose father Detective Chief Superintendent Desmond Conroy died in the crash, said it is "quite obvious that there were issues with the aircraft all the way back to 1994 and the aircraft should never have taken off." He added that a "judge-led public inquiry is all that can come of this now."
"The truth is being withheld," Mr Conroy said. "We want justice, we want an apology from the Government that our loved ones were placed on an aircraft that wasn't released for service."
His sister Patricia Conroy, who was 22 at the time of the crash, described their father as "a loving husband, family man" and said the incident "ripped apart" their family.
Political Support
Alliance MP for Lagan Valley Sorcha Eastwood said it is a "tragedy" that the Government is "still trying to cover this up." She called for the Hillsborough Law, which would require public officials to tell the truth during inquiries, to be applied as a test case.
"The tragedy, now 32 years on, is that the Government are still trying to cover this up and telling families bare face lies that these need to be covered up for 100 years," Ms Eastwood said.
New Evidence
The Chinook Justice Campaign group has said that newly released Ministry of Defence (MoD) documents show officials were aware of serious airworthiness concerns about the helicopter while actively seeking to protect the official narrative blaming the pilots.
Jennifer Balmer-Hornby, who lost her father Major Anthony Robert Hornby a week before her 10th birthday, said a full public inquiry is important because families feel "there's more information out there, but they are locking it away."
Government Response
An MoD spokesperson said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends, and colleagues of all those who died in the Mull of Kintyre crash. The MoD continues to engage with the Chinook Justice Campaign throughout this process."
The spokesperson added that the MoD is focused on responding to a formal claim for Judicial Review submitted by the campaign in September 2025.
Last month, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would meet with the families after the case was raised in the Commons. Patricia Conroy expressed readiness for the meeting, saying: "We want him to meet us, to listen to us, to take what we have to say seriously."
