Mull of Kintyre Review — Statement

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 4:39 pm on 13 July 2011.

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Photo of Lord Astor of Hever Lord Astor of Hever Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip), The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence 4:39, 13 July 2011

My Lords, first, I thank the noble Lord for his support for the work carried out by Lord Philip and his review. I am also grateful to the noble Lord for his support for what my department is trying to do to establish what happened and what lessons can be learnt. Like the noble Lord I, too, pay tribute to the 29 people who died in this accident and to their families.

The noble Lord asked me several questions, the first of which was about the leaks. It was disappointing that Lord Philip's main recommendation was widely reported over the weekend. We commenced enquiries immediately to establish who was responsible and those enquiries continue. There has been a lot of wild, inaccurate and unhelpful speculation in the press, which must have been very distressing and concerning to the families. I deeply deplore that.

The noble Lord asked me about key personnel travelling together. As Lord Philip's report acknowledges, we reviewed our process for transportation of personnel vital to national security after the board of inquiry, and we did produce guidance at that point. However, the Secretary of State has said that he wants to take another look to reassure himself that our procedures in this area are adequate.

The noble Lord also asked about the safety issues relating to the Chinook. Lord Philip's report raises no safety issue with the Chinook mark 2. Indeed, Lord Philip writes in his report that,

"it is now regarded as a highly successful aircraft".

The Chief of the Air Staff endorsed this position and wrote to the Guardian in January last year. He said:

"The Chinook helicopter has a remarkable safety record and has proved a mainstay of recent operations".

The noble Lord pointed out that the pilot had expressed concern. I quote from Lord Philip's review:

"We were told that Flt Lt Tapper telephoned his Deputy Flight Commander on the evening before the delivery of ZD576 to Northern Ireland expressing concern that some time had passed since his conversion training. He felt unprepared to fly the aircraft. He had attempted to persuade the tasking authority to spread the load between more than one aircraft, but his request had been refused".

My Lords, I am sure lots of lessons have been learnt from that, and certainly we put safety as an absolutely pre-eminent issue as far as the Royal Air Force is concerned.

The noble Lord asked me about compensation for families. This is a confidential matter, but I can assure him that this will be taken forward in the normal way. Finally, I can reassure him that I very much hope that this is the end of the matter. For the families of all those who were killed, I very much hope this is the end.