Chinook victim's son renews inquiry call

THE son of one of the men who perished in the 1994 Chinook disaster has called on the Prime Minister to finally allow a public inquiry.

The helicopter took off from RAF Aldergrove on June 2 but crashed in thick fog in the Mull of Kintyre.

On board were 25 senior intelligence personnel and four crew - and all perished.

A few days later 15 of the dead returned, the oak coffins emerging one by one from the belly of a Hercules as hundreds of bereft family members watched.

“Fate has dealt us some terrible hands in our time, but nothing and I mean nothing could ever prepare us for that out there,” said one officer, who knew the 10 Special Branch men killed by name.

“You have just no idea of the trauma, the profound sense of loss and the devastation.”

But Joel Hornby certainly did. His father was Major Anthony Hornby, who died that fateful day. Joel was just seven at the time.

This week he made an emotional return to the memorial cairn that marks the site of the disaster. He left a wreath which read: ‘Dad, we are still fighting for you’.

Speaking afterwards, he said that the families are seeking a full judicial review into what went wrong after the Ministry of Defence dismissed their demands.

“We, the families of those lost, have still been denied answers over 30 years on.

“The MoD has rejected our request for a full judge-led public inquiry, and furthermore, has sealed documents relating to the crash for 100 years.

“We are requesting that the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer live up to his promises on duty of candour and overrule the MoD’s decision.”

He has also urged people to sign a change.org petition calling on the Prime Minister to overturn the MoD decision and release the documents.