Scotland Chinook crash victim 'would want answers', says sister
On the day her brother died, Mrs Rawcliffe had just returned home from a holiday with her husband and was welcomed with a birthday card from her brother.She said she had not listened to any news that night and went to bed."The next thing I knew was stones being thrown up at our bedroom window in the early hours of 3 June because, unbeknown to me, Chris had appointed me his next of kin should my parents be out of the country," she explained."I had the harrowing task of not only receiving the devastating news delivered to me by this army officer at two in the morning, but then I also had to telephone my parents to tell them their eldest son had been killed in a Chinook helicopter crash."It was harrowing and incredibly hard."She described her brother as a "gregarious chap" with a "very warm personality" and "infectious laugh".
The helicopter had been on its way from RAF Aldergrove, in Northern Ireland, to a conference in Inverness, in Scotland, and was travelling through thick fog.It was carrying leading security personnel, all of whom died in the crash.Initially, the crash was blamed on pilot error, but they were exonerated in 2011. The families of the victims wanted High Court judges to review information they said was not considered in previous investigations and for the government to release documents on the crash that were sealed for 100 years.However, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Friday rejected the calls and said he had been advised by the MoD that the records offered "no insights" and he did not believe a new inquiry would "bring any greater certainty" or would be in the public interest.
Mrs Rawcliffe said it felt like the prime minister had "slammed the door in our face" and she wanted him to "stand up and get the truth"."We just want somebody to tell us why the helicopter left the ground because we have the evidence to show that it was unairworthy," she continued."It would help because grief is hard enough."If [Christopher] was here, he would say, 'Just keep going, you've got to keep going until you find that answer and get that truth'."Mr Dockerty, 96, said he was "extremely grateful" to his daughter for her campaigning."I think it's quite disgusting that it has been allowed to fester as long as it has without getting to the bottom of things," he added.
A spokesperson for the MoD said: "The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died."The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent judge-led review."They reiterated that the sealed record contained personal records and that the release of the information would breach data protection rules.
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Staffordshire teacher who sent underwear pics to teen banned for life
A teacher who sent pictures of herself in her underwear to a 15-year-old pupil has been banned from the profession for Lowe, now aged 27, had taught at Kingsmead School in Hednesford, Staffordshire, and was caught when "inappropriate" notes were found by the boy's relationship with her pupil began with late-night email sessions in 2021 using emojis and nicknames, months after she started in the role, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel the affair came to light, Ms Lowe was suspended by the school, but she contacted the pupil again, sending him sexual images of herself, the TRA panel was told. After resigning, the teacher was found guilty of engaging in sexual communication with a child and was handed a 14-month suspended jail term, the panel heard. 'Make me proud' Ms Lowe began working as a trainee teacher at Kingsmead School in July September that year, when she was responsible for the then 15-year-old, she began emailing him as late as 22:00, the panel was messages included heart symbol emojis, would often end with a kiss, and used nicknames, the panel Lowe wrote to the pupil using phrases like "make me proud", "try not to miss me too much" and "you've already made my day", the TRA was October 2021, the boy's mother found notes she believed were from Ms Lowe and reported her concerns to the school. An investigation was launched, and Ms Lowe was suspended, the panel having "a warning shot across her bows", the teacher contacted the boy again, and sent him intimate photos, the TRA was told. 'Gross breach of trust' Ms Lowe resigned in November 2021 and was charged by the initially denied the charge before changing her plea to guilty on the day of trial, the panel Lowe was sentenced to 14 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, and was put on the sex offenders register for 10 his sentencing remarks, the judge said Ms Lowe committed a "gross breach of trust" and "used the environment in which you were working with [the pupil] to pursue what was evidently your sexual interest in him"."You moved on to the passing of inappropriate notes to him, and ultimately, by the end of the period that we are concerned with, matters escalated to private digital communications between you and him, including you sending him images of yourself in your underwear," the judge said."The concerning aspect of your case is that after matters came to light, by his mother having found out what was going on, you were spoken to, and yet you still had another face-to-face meeting with him at school, and ultimately, when the investigation was launched and you were suspended from work, you contacted him again, and that included the sending of the images of yourself to him."On behalf of the secretary of state, decision maker Marc Cavey said Ms Lowe's behaviour was "incompatible with working as a teacher".He decided she should be prohibited from teaching indefinitely. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
People held under UK's ‘one in, one out' asylum deal say they had not heard of it
Asylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour's 'one in, one out' deal have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel. Since the first group of small boat arrivals were detained just over a week ago on 6 August, 2,363 people have crossed the Channel. More than 50,000 have crossed since Labour came into power. 'I was so happy to survive the journey across the Channel and to reach land in the UK. Then the Home Office locked me up. I'm still in a state of shock,' said one man from Eritrea, speaking to the Guardian by phone from a detention centre. 'We did not understand what was happening to us when the Home Office moved us from Manston [the former military base in Kent] where we were processed, straight to this place which is like a jail. 'When we asked why they were bringing some who arrived on the same boat as me here but letting others go free, they did not answer us. They just said it was because we crossed the Channel illegally.' The man said that neither he nor anyone he knew in northern France knew anything about the 'one in, one out' deal and was not sure it would prevent people from continuing to try to cross the Channel. 'I am very frightened here. There are people who have committed crimes in the UK locked up with us. We have done nothing wrong apart from trying to find a safe place.' He claimed to have been trafficked and tortured when he passed through Libya on his journey from Eritrea. 'I believe if I am sent back to France and the smugglers find me they will kill me,' he said. A second man from Afghanistan also spoke to the Guardian from detention. He said: 'The Home Office have just locked us in these rooms and said we cannot go from here. We are frightened of the dangerous criminals locked up with us. We are so afraid of what Home Office will do to us. 'The Taliban tried to kill me so I escaped from Afghanistan. I thought I was free when I reached [the] UK but instead I am in this prison. We knew nothing about the 'one in, one out' deal when we left France. I don't know if it will stop people crossing the Channel.' The Home Office says the first group of detainees are expected to be returned to France within three weeks, with the UK referring potential returnees to the French authorities within three days of their detention and the French expected to respond within 14 days. A leaflet given to detainees by the Home Office says those returned to France may be offered a financial incentive by the French authorities to return to their home countries. It asks detainees to notify the Home Office if they are seriously ill or a victim of rape, torture or violence, although officials are supposed to screen for these vulnerabilities before detaining people. Karris Hamilton, an advocacy manager at Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, which is supporting those earmarked for forced return to France, said: 'We are extremely concerned about the wellbeing of the men being detained for the 'one in, one out' scheme. 'Those we have spoken with so far are in acute distress and many have been victims of torture, exploited by traffickers on their journeys or victims of modern slavery in Libya. 'People are finding it difficult to eat and sleep due to being in a prison environment, not knowing how long they will be there and fearing that they may be taken back to France. We are very worried that we will see a rise in self-harm, suicide attempts and hunger strikes due to this.'
Times
10 minutes ago
- Times
Teenage girl left alone on mental health ward was killed unlawfully
A coroner and jurors had tears in their eyes as they ruled that a teenage girl was killed unlawfully after she was left alone on a mental health ward by an agency worker using a fake name on his first shift. Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, was meant to be under strict observation at the psychiatric intensive care unit of Huntercombe Hospital in Berkshire while being treated for a severe eating disorder when she was left on her own by the worker on February 12, 2022. The inquest had heard that the agency worker, who went by the name of Ebo Acheampong, had applied for the role under a false name and had never worked in a psychiatric hospital, the police later discovered. He never returned to work after the teenager's death and fled the UK for Ghana. Ian Wade KC, the coroner, and the jurors were clearly upset when they delivered the conclusion of unlawful killing at the inquest at Buckinghamshire coroner's court in Beaconsfield. Addressing Ruth's parents, Mark and Kate Szymankiewicz, Wade said with tears in his eyes: 'I hope you will treasure all the good memories of your lovely daughter.' The inquest had been told that she shut herself in her bedroom, where she self-harmed. She died two days later at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Jurors were told that the ward was missing at least half of its staff on the day Ruth was left unsupervised. Acheampong was asked to join the intensive care psychiatrist team because they were so short-staffed that nurses could not go on breaks. Michelle Hancey, a support worker with 18 years' experience at Huntercombe, raised concerns that day that the team would 'fail to monitor patients on prescribed special observation because of staff shortage'. Acheampong was assigned to watch over Ruth on his first shift at the hospital. He repeatedly left the girl alone while she was watching TV, one time for a couple of minutes, which prompted her to walk alone to her bedroom. She had been on an observation plan which meant that she had to be kept within eyesight at all times after earlier incidents of self-harm. About 15 minutes passed before a nurse discovered the teenage girl and raised the alarm. 'Ruth was not prevented from accessing the restricted material which could be used to self-harm,' the jury foreman told the hearing. 'Ruth was not prevented from accessing harmful material on the internet. Ruth's care pathway … was insufficient to allow improvement for discharge. 'From Ruth's admission to Thames ward, her responsible clinician deemed the ward to be neither suitable nor conducive to her recovery. Ruth's parents were not given adequate information about the appeal process, and refusal rights.' Ruth's parents, who are both doctors, read an emotional statement outside the court after the verdict. They said: 'There is an empty space at our table, a silent bedroom in our home, a gaping hole in our family that will never be filled … Ruth was an incredible, bright, friendly, loving and adventurous girl with a whole life of joy ahead of her. 'When, at our most vulnerable as a family, we reached out for help, we ultimately found ourselves trapped in a system that was meant to care for her, to help her, to keep her safe, but instead locked her away and harmed her.' Huntercombe Hospital was rated 'overall inadequate' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in February 2021, and has since been closed.
