Sir Liam Fox, a former UK Defence Secretary, has written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer requesting a fresh review of the 1994 RAF Chinook crash at the Mull of Kintyre. The disaster killed 29 people, including many of Northern Ireland’s most senior intelligence, military, and police personnel involved in counter-terrorism operations during the Troubles.

In his letter, Fox warned that vital information may have been withheld from ministers and parliament. He said newly available material raises deep concerns that the Chinook may have been knowingly allowed to fly despite questions over its airworthiness.

The helicopter, flight ZD576, crashed into fog-shrouded terrain near the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse on 2 June 1994. It was travelling from RAF Aldergrove in County Antrim to Inverness. All four crew and 25 passengers died.

Fox, who commissioned a 2010-11 independent review that cleared the two pilots of gross negligence, now believes that review may not have been given accurate information about the aircraft’s safety. He stated that the central issue is whether the Ministry of Defence allowed an unairworthy helicopter to operate.

The letter claims that safety-critical FADEC engine control software had been previously judged by defence engineers as “positively dangerous,” and that the helicopter was considered unreliable on the day of the crash. Fox also alleged that the MOD was in a legal dispute with the engine manufacturer over software quality at the time.

The initial RAF Board of Inquiry in 1994 could not determine the cause of the crash. Two senior reviewing officers later found the pilots guilty of gross negligence, a decision that was overturned in 2011 following sustained campaigning by the pilots’ families and a House of Lords committee report that deemed the verdict unjustified.

Fox wrote that families of the victims met defence ministers in December 2025 and were promised further engagement on the helicopter’s airworthiness, but little progress has followed. He criticised what he described as institutional defensiveness, including a recent media statement, later denied by the MOD, that no new evidence had been presented. Fox said the episode caused significant distress and damaged trust.

He argued that a full public inquiry may not be necessary, but a focused review similar to the 2010-11 investigation should be conducted, provided all relevant evidence is disclosed. The former defence secretary emphasised that restoring confidence requires the truth to be established transparently before Parliament.

The crash devastated Northern Ireland’s security establishment, wiping out a concentration of experienced counter-terrorism personnel at a critical phase of the Troubles. Many Ministry of Defence files related to the incident remain sealed until 2094. Families continue to campaign for further disclosure and investigation.