The Mull of Kintyre Disaster: The Tributes: Ulster 'indebted to fine men'

AS THE SCALE of the loss at Mull of Kintyre became clear yesterday, sorrow for those who perished was mixed with concern over the effect of being robbed of so many talented men who had given so much in Ulster's battle against terrorism.

But it was the sheer human emotion for the deaths of so many individuals that affected Sir Hugh Annesley, the Royal Ulster Constabulary's chief constable as he drew a sombre news conference to a close.

Describing himself as 'heartbroken', Sir Hugh said: 'They were no ordinary men. They were extraordinary men. Individually and collectively, they gave outstanding service to the RUC, to this community of Northern Ireland, and by reason of their special jobs, to the nation as a whole. In the course of that service they made an enormous contribution to saving life, protecting the whole community and serving the cause of peace. This community owes them such a huge, huge debt of gratitude.'

Sir Patrick Mayhew, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said the crash had been a 'dreadful and tragic event' and a 'severe blow to our efforts to combat terrorism'. But he pledged: 'The operational effects will be overcome. The work of these fine people will continue as they would have wished and indeed is continuing even now'.

The Queen and the Prince of Wales sent messages of condolence to Sir Patrick. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'They wanted to pass on their sympathy to the families of those killed.'

John Major, the Prime Minister, said those who died had played an important role protecting people from terrorism. 'We owe them a very great deal for their work. We will now, as they would have wished, move to reappoint people to carry on their work. Society needs protecting from terrorism. We will protect it.'

But the Armed Forces Minister, Jeremy Hanley, a former Northern Ireland Office minister, admitted: 'They are going to be very difficult to replace.'

The Irish Prime Minister, Albert Reynolds, said that the crash was 'a tragic loss to the government apparatus in Northern Ireland' and called on the terrorists to reflect on their activities. 'Hopefully, this awful tragedy will be another incentive to those on the violence side to say 'look . . . we should put down our arms and try to work out an accomodation between the divided communities, and not to have them all suffer for another 25 years'.'

Irish police Commissioner Patrick Culligan contacted Sir Hugh personally to tell him of his 'deep sorrow'. He said that the RUC members who died were 'key people in the fight against subversion', adding: 'Their deaths are a great blow, not only to the RUC, but to the Gardai.'