Bereaved Nimrod families to take MoD to court
Saturday, 28 Jun 2008 12:13
Families of those killed in the 2006 accident are set to sue the MoD
The families of 14 soldiers who died in the Nimrod air crash in Afghanistan in 2006 are taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Nimrod planes are still in use in battle in spite of a coroner ruling that the fleet had never been safe to fly and that the planes should be grounded for good.
Graham Knight, the father of one of the victims of the accident that was said to have occurred due to a fuel leak during aerial refuelling, told the BBC that the MoD needed to take sterner measures to stop the operation of the plane.
Mr Knight told the broadcaster: "Fourteen men died on that plane and apart from apologies nothing has really been done about it and although the planes have been deemed un-airworthy, they're still flying."
He added: "Had it been a bus company and it had been an un-roadworthy bus, legal action would have been taken against the bus company. I feel that something needs to be done as nobody has been brought to task."
The MoD has said the Nimrod is safe to fly now as midair refuelling operations have been suspended.
An spokesperson for the ministry said: "The secretary of state has directed that compensation will be paid, and claims will be handled quickly and amicably. We are currently awaiting detailed evaluations of the claims from the families' solicitors.
"Once these are received, we will deal with the claims as quickly as possible. Any further legal claims will be reviewed as and when they are submitted," he added.
The crash, which occurred two years ago, resulted in the single-largest loss of life suffered by British troops since the Falklands War.