Nimrod compensation offer 'insulting'

Friday, October 30, 2009

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of offering ludicrous and insulting compensation to the relatives of the 14 members of the armed forces who died in the Nimrod crash. The families are considering making corporate manslaughter charges against BAE Systems and QinetiQ, the companies responsible for delivering and maintaining the Nimrod.

Also, according to one relative, when armed forces minister Bill Rammell met them after the damning Haddon-Cave report was published, he treated the event "like any other ordinary meeting" and "kept looking at his watch". The relative left the meeting early after Rammell failed to answer relatives' questions about taking action against the companies.

Another relative said his lawyers had described one MoD compensation offer as "ludicrous" and an insult, especially for the families where children were involved. The MoD is said to have offered around £1m to some of the families on condition that they don't make any further claims.

While one relative said he had been offered a court hearing in November 2010, others had been given dates as far away as December 2011.