Prosecutors have defied calls for a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of three RAF air men in a mid-air collision between two fighter jets

The Crown Office said in a statement there was no need for a court hearing to ascertain the full facts of the tragedy, involving Tornado aircraft, over the Moray Firth in July 2012.

The collision, during a training exercise, claimed the lives of RAF colleagues Hywel Tomos Poole, Samuel Edward Bailey and Adam Mark Sanders.

The Crown Office said the Ministry of Defence's Service Inquiry Report, published on 30 June 2014, had been very thorough.

Moray SNP MP Angus Robertson, who is also the party's defence spokesman, has led calls for a fatal accident inquiry.

Mr Robertson, whose constituency includes the victims' RAF Lossiemouth base said: "This is an extremely disappointing decision.  I am totally mystified why there won't be a Fatal Accident Inquiry.

 "There are critical outstanding questions about Tornado safety and the delayed collision warning system.

 "The MoD failed in its duty of care towards the RAF personnel involved in the Tornado collision.

 "I believe they, their families and colleagues deserved better and a proper inquiry."

But the Crown said the MoD had concluded that difficulties in operating with a split squadron - half of the squadron being then based in Cyprus - the lack of procedures to achieve deconfliction at the flight briefing stage, as well as the failures to have a working Secondary Surveillance Radar on the day of the collision may have been to blame.

 

It also exposed the fact that one of the two aircraft did not have a working Radar Homing and Warning Receiver that day.

All of the Service Inquiry's recommendations have been accepted by the MoD, it added, and were being implemented.

This included the installation of collision warning systems.

The Crown Office said: "After thorough consideration of the circumstances of the case, Crown Counsel have concluded that all the relevant issues have been comprehensively examined in the course of the Military Aviation Authority report and could not have been better considered in any FAI"

It added an FAI "would only duplicate the months of thorough work undertaken by the Military Air Accident Investigation Branch and the Military Aviation Authority in preparing the Service Inquiry.

"As a result, Crown Counsel have instructed that no FAI is to be held."

David Green, Head of the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, said: "Crown Counsel carefully weighed up the full circumstances of the case, and concluded that a Fatal Accident Inquiry could not better and would only repeat the highly detailed investigation into the tragedy already conducted by the Military Aviation Authority.

"The (MoD) Service Inquiry Report which they produced also contains conclusions and recommendations which are more wide ranging than could be expected to be achieved in a Fatal Accident Inquiry.

"The RAF and MOD have accepted the recommendations of the Service Inquiry Report, and the nearest relatives of those who tragically died in this accident have been advised of Crown Counsel's decision."