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Inquiry into 1994 helicopter disaster
• Inquiry led by lawyer with no connection to past investigations
• Read the Guardian's 1999 investigation into the crash
Nick Clegg today announced a new independent legal inquiry into the 1994 Mull of Kintyre helicopter disaster that killed 29 people including top intelligence and anti-terrorist officers.
The deputy prime minister said the evidence surrounding the crash in western Scotland, which the RAF initially blamed on the two pilots, would be reviewed by a senior lawyer with no connections to previous reports.
An RAF board of inquiry ruled that the pilots – flight lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook – were guilty of "gross negligence". Their families have since been fighting to clear their names.
Clegg made the announcement in the House of Commons today during prime minister's questions as he was filling in for David Cameron who has flown to France to be with his ill father.
He told the Commons that the legal figure heading up the new investigation would have no links to past inquiries into the Mull of Kintyre accident.
"I am pleased to be able to confirm today we will be holding an independent review of the evidence of the Mull of Kintyre disaster, and I hope a review will be welcomed by those who died in this tragic accident," Clegg said.
"To ensure its complete independence, the review will be conducted by a respected lawyer who is independent of the government and who has not previously expressed a view on the disaster. The reviewer and the precise terms of reference will be announced soon.
Tapper's father, Mike, welcomed the announcement. He told the Guardian: "At last, we have a firm commitment from a government acting with integrity." All previous inquiries had been dismissed by a "stubborn" Ministry of Defence, he said.
"The fact is that the aircraft were brought into service with a completely new system which was in effect untried. The MoD knew damn well because Boscombe Down had told them," he added, referring to the MoD's aircraft research establishment which recommended grounding the Chinook fleet the day before the Mull of Kintyre crash.
Squadron Leader Robert Burke, a former Chinook test pilot who has been involved in compiling evidence in the case, said: "I am delighted, thrilled. It is the culmination of 15 years' work."
In June 1994 the Chinook helicopter crashed into a hillside near the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse in thick fog. Those on board, including top RUC special branch officers and a number of MI5 operatives, were on their way from Northern Ireland to a secret conference in Inverness. Top of the agenda at that meeting was a discussion on the possible loyalist paramilitary response to the forthcoming IRA ceasefire, which came two months later.
Among those killed was the deputy head of RUC special branch, Brian Fitzsimmons, and senior anti-terrorist officer Supt Ian Phoenix who had helped coordinate with the police and SAS the killing of seven top IRA men at Loughgall, Co Armagh in 1987. As well their immediate families among those who fought from the outset to clear the pilot's of any blame was Phoenix's widow, Susan.
Five years after the crash the government faced calls for a fresh inquiry when Computer Weekly magazine released evidence claiming to cast doubt on the reliability of the helicopter's engine control software, supporting campaigners' claims that the aircraft was at fault and not the pilots.
In February 2002 a House of Lords committee rejected the RAF's verdict and found that there were no grounds for blaming the pilots.
Henry McDonaldRichard Norton-Taylorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Four million homeshave no one in work
Almost four million UK households have no adults in work after a huge increase over the past year, official figures showed today.
Cameron flies to France after father has a stroke
Prime Minister David Cameron today flew to southern France to be with his parents after his father Ian suffered a stroke on holiday.
MPs in emergency debate as police consider phone hack probe
An emergency Commons debate has been called to examine newspaper phone hacking, it was announced today amid fresh pressure on Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson.
MPs to hold phone-hacking debate
Deputy PM Nick Clegg offers only qualified backing for No 10's director of communications, Andy Coulson, as Speaker grants debate on newspaper phone hacking
The Downing Street communications chief Andy Coulson is under renewed pressure as it was announced that MPs will hold an emergency Commons debate about newspaper phone hacking tomorrow.
Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minster, gave only qualified backing to Coulson at prime minister's questions today as Labour strived to keep the affair at the top of the political agenda.
As the Speaker, John Bercow, said he would grant a debate on phone hacking, Clegg refused to say whether he believed Coulson's insistence that he did not know about the illegal practices that took place when he was editor of the News of the World.
Taking prime minster's questions in the absence of David Cameron, who flew to France to be with his ill father today, Clegg warned Labour not to "second guess" police inquiries into fresh allegations surrounding Cameron's press chief.
Clegg cited Coulson's repeated insistence that he had no knowledge of the practice when he was editor of the paper. It was "for the police alone" to decide if a new investigation was required, Clegg told Jack Straw, the shadow justice secretary, who was leading for Labour.
Immediately after the session, Bercow said he had accepted a request from Labour former minister Chris Bryant – who is one of the MPs whose mobile phones is alleged to have been hacked – for a debate tomorrow, in which Coulson's role is likely to come under further scrutiny. .
Senior Liberal Democrats were highly critical of the former NoW editor before joining the Tories in government, with Chris Huhne, now climate change and energy secretary, publicly suggesting before the general election that Coulson was either complicit or incompetent.
Pressed by Straw today on whether he was "entirely satisfied" that Coulson had been in the dark about phone hacking at the News of the World, Clegg directed MPs to the previous statement of the No 10 communications chief, which he insisted "speaks for itself".
"Phone hacking is a very serious offence indeed. It is an outrageous invasion of privacy and it is right that two individuals were convicted and imprisoned," Clegg told MPs.
"As for Mr Coulson, he has made it very, very clear that he took responsibility for something of which he had no knowledge at the News of the World and he refutes all the allegations that have been made to the contrary."
He added: "It is now for the police, and the police alone, to decide whether new evidence has come to light which needs to be investigated."
Coulson always denied any knowledge of the illegal eavesdropping, for which the NoW's ex-royal editor, Clive Goodman, and a private detective were jailed in 2007.
But one of his former reporters, Sean Hoare, reignited the row last week by publicly claiming his boss had been aware of the activities. Senior Scotland Yard officer John Yates indicated yesterday he was likely to speak to Coulson as he considers whether to reopen the police probe.
In a further development, the Guardian reported today that a key witness has said he will testify on the phone-hacking affair, both to police and an inquiry begun by parliament.
Ross Hall, a former employee who until now has been silent, had been named in a previous MPs' inquiry as the man who transcribed swaths of hacked voicemail messages for other journalists, including the tabloid's chief reporter, Neville Thurlbeck.
He told the Guardian he was willing to talk to Scotland Yard and to the home affairs select committee inquiry, which was announced by MPs yesterday.
Downing Street has stood firm on the matter, insisting that Coulson's position is not under threat and said he has the full backing of the prime minister.
Straw used the Commons' session to put pressure on Clegg by quoting Huhne's former comments in which he said that Coulson "was either complicit in criminal activity or the most incompetent editor in Fleet Street".
Straw told Clegg: "Do you expect us to believe that the only person who knew nothing about phone hacking at News of the World was the editor – the very man the prime minister has brought into the heart of the government?"
Clegg replied: "Mr Huhne and I are in complete agreement that if new evidence has come to light the police – and that is what I want and that is what I expect – will now actively look to see whether that evidence is worthy of further investigation. That is what the police are there for," Clegg retorted.
The deputy prime minister took the opportunity to claim that the first person to call Coulson to commiserate on his resignation was Labour former prime minister Gordon Brown.
"He told him not to worry, that he had done the honourable thing and that he knew he would go on to do a worthwhile job," Clegg said to laughter from the government benches.
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My legal hero: Barack Obama
Afua Hirsch: Lawyers struggle to bring about a better world but the American president reminds us why we must continue to fight the fight
I have always wondered why so many politicians are lawyers. I learned a few years ago that – while in civil law countries such as those in continental Europe most politicians are bureaucrats, in Africa many have military backgrounds, and in China many are engineers – in England and America many of the most memorable heads of state have had backgrounds in the law.
People say that one of the reasons Barack Obama has been so successful is his ability to be all things to all people. Part white American, part African, part Irish even, and with enough experience of being a black man in America to relate to African Americans, just the fact of his election offered the promise of radical change, but without alienating everyone else.
Many lawyers claim him as one of their own. Obama is a lawyer's politician through and through. It's no coincidence that one of the most memorable passages from his inaugural speech spoke of the importance of returning America to its historic role in defending the rule of law.
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world and we will not give them up for expedience's sake," Obama said last January.
Politician and lawyer are not mutually exclusive. Since he took office, the disappointments and grime of political life have inevitably dimmed the sparkle. It's been a while since I saw any new R&B tracks on YouTube about being in love with Obama.
But it's back when the presidency was just a twinkle in Obama's eye that I find the lawyer I admire so much.
In his biography, Dreams from My Father, he said this about a career in law: "The study of law can be disappointing at times, a matter of applying narrow rules and arcane procedure to an unco-operative reality; a sort of glorified accounting that serves to regulate the affairs of those who have power – and that all too often seeks to explain, to those who do not, the ultimate wisdom and justness of their condition.
"But that's not all the law is. The law is also memory; the law also records a long-running conversation, a national arguing with its conscience. What is our community, and how might that community be reconciled with our freedom? How far do our obligations reach? How do we transform mere power into justice, mere sentiment into love?
"The answers I find in law books don't always satisfy me – for every Brown vs Board of Education I find a score of cases where conscience is sacrificed to expedience or greed. And yet, in the conversation itself, in the joining of voices, I find myself modestly encouraged, believing that so long as the questions are still being asked, what binds us together might somehow, ultimately, prevail."
Many young lawyers – and I was one of them – embark upon a career in law full of optimism about how their understanding of the rules underpinning society will enable them to help change it. All are disappointed by the reality of a system that is capable of producing injustice and justice in at least equal measure, and where daily practice is often more about feeling frustrated by the long arm of the rules, rather than empowered to change them.
But a few lawyers continue asking the questions and fighting the fight and, if Obama is to be believed, it's the process itself that makes things better. I believe him.
Afua Hirschguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Man charged with Heathrow suitcase murder
A former air steward was charged today with the murder of a woman found in a suitcase at Heathrow airport.
Extradition review to consider if treaty 'unbalanced'
The Government's review of extradition arrangements will consider whether the treaty between the United States and the UK is "unbalanced", Home Secretary Theresa May said today.
Rodney King to marry payout juror
Police beating victim reportedly to marry Cynthia Kelley after calling her on impulse four months ago - years after they last met
Rodney King, the man whose beating in 1991 by Los Angeles police sparked riots in which dozens died and blocks of the city were torched, is reportedly to marry a member of the jury that awarded him $3.8m (£2.5m) compensation three years after the assault.
According to the Radar online magazine, King is to marry Cynthia Kelley after calling her on impulse four months ago - years after they last met.
The couple, both then married to other people, shared a pizza the day after the 1994 compensation case, and began a relationship, but later broke up. Kelley was the only black juror, and said at the time that other jurors had suggested $100,000 would be appropriate.
In 1991, after a car chase through the San Fernando valley, King was dragged from his car by four white police officers and repeatedly beaten with clubs, kicked and punched as he lay on the road. The assault was captured on video by a passing amateur cameraman, and horrified the American public when it was televised.
When, the following year, all four police officers were acquitted, the city erupted: in six nights of rioting, 53 people died, thousands were injured, and the damage caused to property was estimated at over $1bn.
In a tearful television interview during the riots, King pleaded: "Can't we all just get along, can we stop making it horrible for the older people and the kids?"
King is now a grandfather, with three grown up children. In the years since the assault he has battled alcoholism, and appeared in a reality television series following rehab programmes, but in an interview last year he said: "My life is finally at a resting point."
This week he told Radar: "She [Kelley] is a godsend, a blessing in my life."
Maev Kennedyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Champion budgie stamped to death
Budgie breeder finds 21 birds missing and pride of his flock dead on eve of show
When budgie breeder Andrew Pooley walked into his aviary, the silence told him something dreadful had happened.
His fears were soon confirmed: on the eve of a big show, 21 of his prized birds had been stolen and his champion, Penmead Pride, had been stamped to death.
Police today confirmed that they were investigating the break-in at Pooley's aviary and were working on the theory that a jealous rival was the guilty party.
Pooley, from Delabole in north Cornwall, said: "I feel terrible. It has been my life's work and Penmead Pride was my first registered champion. I can't believe it.
"Whoever took them knew what they were doing because they have taken the best of the best. It must have been someone who wanted me out of the show. This was a deliberate act of sabotage."
Former quarry worker Pooley, 58, breeds multicoloured budgies known as recessive pieds and keeps them in his shed in a specially built aviary.
The attack happened last month as Pooley, secretary of the Caged Bird Society, prepared his birds for the Cornwall budgerigar show.
He left his aviary door unlocked as he took his partner's daughter to town. He went to shed at 9.45pm to discover the birds missing and Penmead Pride, named after a road in Delabole, stamped to death, along with two others birds.
"As soon as I opened the door, it was so quiet, I knew something was wrong," he said. "I looked around and saw the birds were gone and I panicked.
"Then I looked on the floor and I saw Penmead Pride was dead – he had been stepped on. The person or people who did this only targeted my show team."
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall police said: "We were called to the property on 20 August after the owner found 21 birds worth £2,000 had been stolen. Some had also been killed.
"The owner and officers have appealed to budgerigar publications to help investigate who is responsible and where the birds may have gone.
"By the nature of the incident it appears the home has been deliberately targeted by someone in the bird-keeping community."
Pooley has bred budgies for 40 years but Penmead Pride, which won top prize at the Cornwall budgerigar show last year, was his first champion.
"Those birds are worth the world to me." he said. "What hurts as well is that they were taken by someone with knowledge, someone with an eye to know a good bird.
"Since the attack, seven more have died just from shock, it's completely destroyed my faith in humanity."
Pooley vowed to continue breeding birds. "I'm not going to give up and let them win," he said.
Steven Morrisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Obama to unveil new stimulus plans
Man held over burnt body on golf course
A 21-year-old man was arrested today by detectives investigating the murder of a man whose severely burnt body was found on a golf course.
£100 million spent on asylum deportation flights
The Government spent more than £100 million on flights deporting failed asylum seekers, foreign nationals and immigration offenders in the last five years, figures showed.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes fell asleep at wheel before car crash
Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes momentarily fell asleep at the wheel of his car and crashed into a vehicle on the opposite side of the road, a court heard today.
Clegg challenged on phone-hacking row
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today insisted it was for the police to decide how to proceed over the News of the World phone hacking row.
Bomb suspect priest met Martin McGuinness
The priest suspected of the 1972 Claudy bombing met Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness shortly before he died, it was revealed today.
