The British Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, yesterday effectively ruled out a reopening of the inquiry into the Mull of Kintyre helicopter disaster following a meeting with his predecessor, Sir Malcolm Rifkind.
Sir Malcolm met Mr Hoon at the Ministry of Defence to urge him to take a fresh look at the cause of the crash which killed all 29 people on board in June 1994.
But Mr Hoon said the verdict of the inquiry into the disaster, which ruled that pilot error was to blame, could not be challenged unless fresh evidence was brought forward.