John Majors face was ashen as he asked to use the phone in my office on hearing the news of the Chinook crash, after taking part on an Election Call programme for the Euro-election of 1994. (I was surprised he didnt have his own comms but there you are). It was such a casually awful waste of life. And so began a saga which hasnt ended even now. The case for the pilots isnt all family based. Malcolm Rifkind, former Defence Secretary, switched sides and Lord Chalfont a dedicated forces buff and Wilson government minister has always been a champion.
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London