Nimrod flypast angers grieving father

THE father of a serviceman killed when a Nimrod spy plane exploded in midair has said using the same kind of aircraft in yesterday's Trooping the Colour celebrations was "totally insensitive".

Graham Knight's son, Sergeant Ben Knight, was one of 14 who died when their plane exploded in Afghanistan in September 2006, minutes after undergoing air-to-air refuelling.

Three weeks ago, a coroner said the entire fleet of Nimrod aircraft had never been airworthy and should be grounded.

The assistant deputy coroner for Oxford, Andrew Walker, made the recommendation to ground the fleet, which is based at RAF Kinloss in Forres, until a "serious design flaw" was rectified.

The explosion was caused by fuel leaking into a dry bay and igniting on contact with a hot air pipe.

But Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth said the Nimrod was safe "with the measures we have taken" and refused to ground the fleet – a response described by families of the victims as an insult.

Knight, 56, of Bridgwater, Somerset, said: "As far as they are concerned they are prepared to put people's lives at risk. It was totally insensitive to be using them in the ceremony."

In a statement, the MoD said: "The MoD has noted the coroner's comments and will be considering them carefully.

"The Nimrod is saving lives in operational theatres every day. However, if it was not safe we would not be flying it. It is safe with the measures we have taken and that is why we will not be grounding the fleet."

The Queen watched the event from Buckingham Palace's balcony with other senior royals, but the Duke of York and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, were not part of the group.