Richard Cook: Pilot

All 29 people on board were killed, among them 25 senior Northern Ireland intelligence officers, who were travelling to an army base for a special meeting.

The RAF's own internal inquiry originally ruled that it was impossible to establish the exact cause - but said there were no "human failings".

That conclusion was overturned by two senior RAF officers, Air Vice Marshal John Day and Air Chief Marshal Sir William Wratten - who reached a verdict of gross negligence.

The House of Lords inquiry concluded there was no justification for finding fault with the men.

No new facts

Mr Ingram said the government needed time to consider the report but he did not seem ready to overturn the verdicts.

"It does seem to me on first reading that it is covering the same ground with the same information. There is no new evidence and no new facts," he said.

"There is an onus on us to give weight to the arguments that are advanced. We have to give consideration to them."

The Armed Forces minister said that the report came to a different conclusion than the senior RAF officers.

Jonathan Tapper: Pilot

The MoD made a limited comment on the findings which were published on Tuesday.

A spokesman said: "It is a complex issue and we will study the report in detail and make a response."

The families and supporters of the pilots expressed relief at the details of the report.

A senior member of the legal team representing Flight Lieutenant Cook's family said the decision drew a line under a "shameful episode".

Quash the findings

Solicitor Advocate Peter Watson added that unanswered questions remained about both the helicopter and the RAF's insistence that the pilots were to blame.

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell, who has backed the families during the inquiry, called on the MoD to quash the findings of its investigation into the crash.

And the defence secretary at the time of the crash ,Sir Malcolm Rifkind, has urged on the government and the MoD to act on the House of Lords report.

Sir Malcolm, who has welcomed the findings, says the initial ruling accusing the pilots of gross negligence could no longer be sustained.