FAMILIES of those killed in the 1994 RAF Chinook helicopter crash have renewed their call for a meeting with Andy Burham, as he reaches his 50th day in office.

En route from RAF Aldergrown in the six counties to Fort George near Inverness, the aircraft crashed into a remote hillside on the Mull of Kintyre, killing 25 intelligence officers and four special forces crew.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had blamed pilot error for the crash, a judgment overturned in an 2011 inquiry, but families have continued to seek answers and the release of documents related to the incident which government chose to seal for 100 years.

That fight took the Chinook Justice Campaign to court earlier this year to challenge the MoD’s “ongoing failure” to set up an “independent and effective investigation,” only for it to be thrown out in July on the basis it had been brought too late.

Urging the Prime Minister to meet with the campaign, Shan Gregory-Smith, whose husband Richard was killed, said: “Andy Burnham has spent years campaigning against institutions investigating themselves, withholding information and forcing bereaved families to fight for answers.

“He now has 50 days left to show that those principles apply to the Chinook families too.

“Meet us. Look at the evidence. And take the investigation out of the hands of the Ministry of Defence.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends, and colleagues of all those who died in the Mull of Kintyre crash.

“Defence ministers have previously met with the Chinook Justice Campaign and we will continue to engage to hear concerns and discuss this important matter.”