Former defence secretary Liam Fox cancelled the purchase of a crash warning system that it is claimed could have prevented a fatal collision of RAF Lossiemouth’s jets.
Defence chiefs have released documents to the SNP which confirm that Dr Fox agreed to “delete” the budget line for the Tornado system in April 2011 – only to perform a quick U-turn and reinstate it two months later.
In July the following year, two Tornados from Lossiemouth collided over the Moray Firth, claiming the lives of three air crew.
The results of the Military Aviation Authority’s inquiry into the crash have now been passed to the procurator fiscal’s office, which is due to decide whether to hold a fatal accident inquiry.
Angus Robertson, Moray MP and SNP defence spokesman, branded the details of Dr Fox’s scrapping of the system as “shocking”.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) identified the need for such technology for the Tornados as far back as 1998.
A £59million system is due to become operational on the Tornados from December this year.
Mr Robertson MP said: “These new revelations are shocking and I believe that the families of the victims of the fatal Tornado crash now deserve the fullest answers and the whole truth.
“Why did the then secretary of state for defence ignore the clear advice of the head of the Military Aviation Authority and cancel the installation collision warning system, only to reinstate it several months later? How much delay did this add to the installation of the collision warning system?
“Was its ‘deletion’ honestly agreed to as part of cost-cutting measures?
“The MoD has a lot of questions to answer about why they do not appear to put the safety of service personnel first. Given this further information there must now be a fatal accident inquiry.”
The 2012 collision claimed the lives of Flight Lieutenant Adam Sanders, Squadron Leader Samuel Bailey and Flight Lieutenant Hywel Poole.
A spokesman for the MoD said: “A service inquiry has been completed and as Scotland’s procurator fiscal is considering whether a fatal accident inquiry will be held it would be inappropriate to comment on what may have caused the accident.
“There are already a range of mitigation measures in place to minimise the risk of mid-air collision. A collision warning system is currently being installed in the Tornado GR4 fleet and is expected to be in service later this year.”