That is in no small measure due to the pressure they have put on the MoD by their own investigations. The damning report by Charles Haddon-Cave QC, a specialist aviation barrister, finally pieces together the whole disturbing picture of a culture

at the MoD which failed to prioritise safety above budgetary imperatives, Evidence of this failure of responsibility had already emerged from the 2007 RAF board of inquiry, which found that ageing components and a lack of modern fire suppressants were among the contributory factors, and from the inquest last year, in which the coroner ruled that the Nimrods had never been airworthy since entering service in 1969 and called for the entire fleet to be grounded. That it took a further 10 months before overseas operations were halted so that the hot air ducts could be replaced (leaked fuel in contact with a hot air pipe had ignited) was already worrying evidence of the extraordinary degree of complacency and incompetence found by Mr Haddon-Cave.

This wilful disregard of the danger of the flaw in the Nimrod’s design was one instance of the “systemic breach” of the military covenant uncovered by the report. The more far-reaching danger of that change in attitude, stemming from the 1998 strategic defence review, is that it undermines the basis of our professional defence forces.

Every government department has a responsibility to be economically efficient, but budget cuts at the MoD have now been exposed as resulting in cutting corners on air­worthiness protocols. Such false economies can come about by default, but in the case of the Nimrod MR2 fleet there was a golden opportunity to identify the dangers and rectify them. The safety review carried out by the MoD in conjunction with BAE Systems and the defence advisers QinetiQ, however, failed to do that.

The report makes clear that this was a “tragically lost” opportunity to prevent the accident to XV230 in 2006. It is, therefore, right to name those responsible at the MoD, BAE Systems and QinetiQ. Blame is only useful, however, if it ensures that past mistakes are not repeated. The MoD has admitted negligence, but financial compensation is no substitute for the loss of a husband, father or son. Restoring a culture of airworthiness at the highest levels of the RAF and MoD would, however, be a positive outcome from which the bereaved families might gain some comfort.

Yesterday they received an apology from the current Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth to add to the earlier one from his predecessor, Des Browne. That was the easy part. Mr Haddon-Cave’s findings must now be acted upon. Before there can be a change in culture at the MoD, however, there must be a change in culture in the cabinet. That must go beyond a recognition of the truth of the assertion by shadow Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox that “you cannot fight wars on a peacetime budget” to a real understanding that the prime duty of those whose front line is politics and budget constraints is their duty of care to those whose front line is life and death.