§ Mr. John GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has yet received the results of the United States board of inquiry into the shooting down of two Black Hawk helicopters over northern Iraq on 14 April; if the bereaved families have been informed; and if he will make a statement.
§ 34 Mr. HanleyThe United States Government have today announced the results of their board of inquiry. I have placed a copy of the executive summary, summary of facts and United States news release in the Libraries of both Houses. The board of inquiry concluded that a combination of human error and organisational failures led to a tragic sequence of events resulting in the shooting down of the two Black Hawk helicopters. The bereaved families visited the Adjutant General and myself at the Ministry of Defence this afternoon, before receiving a briefing at the United States embassy from the ambassador and a representative of the United States air force in Europe.