Letter: Chinook mistake

THE new government's authorisation of another inquiry into the crash of the RAF Chinook helicopter on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 is depressing (your report, 29 July).

It constitutes a triumph of populism and prejudice over common sense and an example of asking a question over and over again until one gets the required result.

Unable to accept that the experienced pilots could have made a mistake, their families campaigned persistently for the RAF to change its mind. Then, for what appear to have been political motives, some politicians, especially some in the House of Lords, lent their support.

In the run-up to the last general election, it got onto the manifestos of the opposition parties, who no doubt thought it a vote winner. Now in government, they are compelled to proceed with a new and unnecessary review in the face of consistent and reasonable resistance from the MoD.

Perhaps these campaigners believe that where so many people call for a change of mind, there must be a case for doing so. This is a mistake. It is foolish to ignore the wealth of evidence that the pilots broke safety rules and, because of that, flew blindly into a hillside.

STEUART CAMPBELL

Dovecot Loan

Edinburgh