Ex-minister Liam Fox probes Chinook disaster over his 'deep concerns'
He intervened as families of the victims accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of 'gaslighting' them by refusing to answer unresolved questions.
Relatives of senior British intelligence personnel killed in the helicopter tragedy are suing the MoD in a bid to end what they describe as three decades of secrecy.
As Defence Secretary back in 2011, Sir Liam published the results of an independent review which recommended that an earlier finding that the pilots were negligent to a gross degree should be 'set aside'.
Now Sir Liam has spoken of 'very deep concerns' about the circumstances surrounding the crash which killed 25 senior intelligence experts and four Special Forces crew.
Campaigners say the MoD's decision to seal the Chinook files for 100 years had 'further heightened suspicions of a cover-up'.
Sir Liam has held a private meeting with some of the 47 children of those who were killed on June 2, 1994 in a Chinook Mk 2.
Calls for a public inquiry have been rejected both by the Prime Minister and the MoD and the families are now pursuing a judicial review at the High Court under Article II of the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to life.
Sir Liam said: 'It was my pleasure to meet some of the members of the Chinook Justice Campaign and to listen to their harrowing stories and their suspicions about what may have happened.
'I share their very deep concerns about the circumstances surrounding the crash and I have committed to a full investigation to ensure that the truth is laid before the British people.
'As the Defence Secretary who, after the conclusions of the Mull of Kintyre Review, cleared the two pilots of blame, I have assured the families that I will give this my full attention and help to establish the truth about what happened.'
According to campaigners, evidence which has been leaked to the families – and is available on the Chinook Justice Campaign website – confirms that the aircraft was not airworthy and should never have taken off on that fateful flight.
Andy Tobias, whose father, Lieutenant Colonel John Tobias, 41, was killed, said the 'support of Sir Liam Fox means a huge amount to all of the families'.
He said: 'The MoD keeps telling us that no new inquiry is necessary, and points to the judge-led inquiry set up by Sir Liam which was established solely to discover whether the pilots were to blame.
'They were cleared; given Sir Liam supports our case – then the MoD's argument is void.
'They must stop trying to gaslight the families of the dead.'
Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook were both UK Special Forces pilots with exemplary service records.
Two RAF Air Marshals ruled the pair were 'grossly negligent', effectively overturning a previous inquiry. It took nearly 17 years for the pilots' families to clear their names.
An MoD spokesman said: 'It's unlikely that a public inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence.'
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