MORE than 25,000 people have signed a petition to demand “truth and transparency” from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the 1994 Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre.

The helicopter, crewed by four special forces personnel, was carrying 25 senior intelligence experts from Northern Ireland to Fort George near Inverness when it crashed into a hillside,, leaving no survivors.

Families have long argued that secrecy has hampered their search for answers, a position apparently confirmed when a BBC documentary, Chinook: Zulu Delta 576, revealed the MoD had sealed files on the incident for 100 years.

An MoD spokesperson said: “Early release of this information would breach those individuals’ data protection rights.”

But Dr Susan Phoenix, who lost her RUC detective superintendent husband in the crash, was unconvinced.

Calling on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to launch a judge-led inquiry and introduce a legal “duty of candour” on public bodies, she said: “Why would files on this horrific crash be sealed for 100 years without there being something to hide?

“We are determined to find out the truth, and we believe the British public want that too.”