Nimrod crash chiefs may be jailed for life

Published on Monday 16 November 2009 21:29

SENIOR employees at two defence firms face life in prison if the parents of servicemen who died in a Nimrod air crash in Afghanistan successfully bring corporate manslaughter charges against them.

The parents of one of the victims are demanding the Crown Prosecution Service investigates whether senior workers at the firms – condemned for their role in the tragedy – should face criminal charges in connection with the deaths of the 14 servicemen, 12 of whom were based at RAF Kinloss.

If convicted of corporate manslaughter, each company faces the prospect of an unlimited fine. And if an individual is convicted of gross negligence manslaughter – the equivalent of corporate manslaughter – they could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Graham Knight and his wife Trish lost their youngest son, Sergeant Ben Knight, when he was killed in the Nimrod explosion on 2 September, 2006 – Britain's worst military disaster since the Falklands War.

Sgt Knight was one of 12 crewmen from the Moray air base who died in the blast, together with a Royal Marine and a soldier from the Parachute Regiment.

Earlier this month, in a damning report by Charles Haddon-Cave, QC, a leading aviation barrister, BAE Systems, the manufacturer of the RAF reconnaissance plane, and defence consultants QinetiQ were both condemned, together with the Ministry of Defence, for their failure to prevent the crash.

Mr Haddon-Cave concluded that safety flaws driven by cost-cutting and a culture of "incompetence, complacency and cynicism" had led to the loss of the plane and all on board in a catastrophic mid-air fire – a disaster that could have been prevented.

His scathing report singled out ten officials and executives from the MoD, BAE Systems and QinetiQ for particular criticism.

The three senior BAE managers named in the report were Chris Lowe, the chief airworthiness engineer; Richard Oldfield, the Nimrod safety case project leader; and Eric Prince, the flight systems and avionics manager.

The two managers at QinetiQ criticised in the report are Martin Mahy, the task manager for the Nimrod safety case project, and Colin Blagrove, the technical assurance manager for Nimrod safety management.

The Knights claim that their son was killed "by the incompetence of his own side". And yesterday, following a meeting of the Nimrod families in London with the armed forces minister Bill Rammell, Mr and Mrs Knight revealed that their lawyers had formally requested that the CPS consider the fresh information unearthed by Mr Haddon-Cave to see whether any criminal charges should be laid.

Mr Knight, from Bridgwater in Somerset, said: "We are saying criminal prosecutions should be brought against BAE Systems and QinetiQ and a number of individuals within those organisations – the ones named within the Haddon-Cave report.

"We are leaving the specific charges open to the CPS, but corporate manslaughter, I guess, is what we are looking for.

"We have made it clear that we will continue with our unwavering objective to establish responsibility and make accountable those who caused the death of our son and his fellow servicemen who were on board the Nimrod when it exploded.

"The Haddon-Cave report suggests there may have been potential criminality in the conduct of those named within the report … What we are seeking is justice for Ben and the other 13 men who died."

Mr and Mrs Knight said they had also made a formal application to Kevin Myres, the deputy chief executive officer of the government's Health & Safety Executive, to investigate the MoD for its alleged failure to ensure the airworthiness of the aircraft.

Mr Knight said: "Even though the MoD has Crown immunity, the HSE can still pass Crown censure motions against them and they can look at the work they have done."

The Knights also raised the question of criminal proceedings at the Nimrod families' meeting with Mr Rammell.

Mr Knight said: "The minister said he is going to write to us with answers to a lot of the questions we asked. We asked if action will be taken against individuals and he said he couldn't comment on that because of legal issues. All he could say was it is being looked at.

"We feel it's been a long time since the crash and it should have been looked into before."

A CPS spokeswoman said they would not be able to comment until the letter from the lawyers acting for Mr and Mrs Knight had been received.

A spokesman for BAE Systems said: "Our sympathies remain with the families of those whose lives were lost. If we are called upon by any of the authorities concerned to provide input, we will of course do so. Safety is of paramount importance to us and our priority is to continue to review the Haddon-Cave report and respond as appropriate."

Mr Rammell said: "I was pleased to meet again with some of (the families] and pass on my sympathies, listen to their concerns and assure them that the MoD is determined to learn all possible lessons."

Ten men named and shamed

The five company men singled out for criticism in the Haddon-Cave report:

&#149 Chris Lowe: The chief airworthiness engineer at BAE. Report said he bore the heaviest responsibility for "poor management" of the Nimrod project.

&#149 Richard Oldfield: BAE's Nimrod safety case project leader. Report found he did not come clean about gaps in the analysis of possible risks.

&#149 Eric Prince: Flight systems and avionics manager with BAE was prepared to see a "misleading impression as to the completeness of the work" given to the customer.

&149 Martin Mahy: Task manager for the Nimrod safety case project at QinetiQ; criticised for signing off BAE reports without reading them.

&#149 Colin Blagrove: QinetiQ's technical assurance manager for Nimrod safety management. The report found he failed to ensure QinetiQ did not sign off anything unless it was appropriate to do so.

The report also named five Ministry of Defence figures as culpable, but who are immune from prosecution:

&#149 General Sir Sam Cowan

&#149 Air Chief Marshal Sir Malcolm Pledger

&#149 Group Captain George Baber

&#149 Wing Commander Michael Eagles

&#149 Frank Walsh