Tory call for new Chinook inquiry

A former Tory defence minister yesterday joined the campaign by relatives of two dead pilots to reopen the inquiry into an RAF Chinook helicopter crash in which 25 Ulster security experts died.

James Arbuthnot, now the Tory chief whip, told Channel 4 News he had changed his mind because of "new" evidence that the crash had been caused by an onboard computer failure. He believed there had been a miscarriage of justice.

Relatives of the dead pilots, who were blamed for the accident, are campaigning to clear their names. Mr Aburthnot's U-turn could lift their hopes after failing to convince MPs about the need for a fresh inquiry.