A former British law lord has joined a growing list of MPs in questioning the RAF's verdict of gross negligence on the pilots of the Chinook helicopter crash in 1994, in which 29 people were killed.
In the House of Lords yesterday, Lord Brightman, a cross-bencher, questioned the validity of the verdict and pointed out that because there were no survivors the evidence against the pilots could not be tested.
"We have here the exact equivalent of a verdict of manslaughter without hearing the defence. Is that safe?"
The Chinook crashed on the Mull of Kintyre during a flight from Northern Ireland to Scotland, killing the two pilots, their crew and 25 intelligence personnel on board.
The RAF's board of inquiry investigation into the cause of the crash accused the pilots of gross negligence, but the pilots' families have called for a fresh investigation because they believe there is more than one possible explanation for the crash.
A recent report by the Commons Defence Select Committee concluded that it could not "challenge or endorse" the RAF's findings.