Police cannot see pilot's statements on Shoreham Airshow crash, High Court rules

The Court has handed down its judgment on Sussex Police’s applications for the disclosure of records relating to the crash, which are given a protected status in law. It has refused the disclosure of statements made by pilot Andrew Hill to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in response to discussion or interviews. An application for the release of material produced by various other people subsequently, such as experiments conducted and tests done on various aspects of the accident, has also been refused. However, the Court has ruled that film footage of the flight, made by cameras installed on the aeroplane, can be released. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Rymarz said: “We are pleased that the High Court has granted us access to some of the material that we were seeking and this will enable us to move forward with our investigation. “We understand that legally this case is without precedent in England and Wales and we accept the reasons why our request has not been granted in full. “As we have said before, this is an extraordinarily complex investigation, but we remain committed to finding answers for the families and friends of those who died.” The Court ruled on the case between the Chief Constable of Sussex Police and the Secretary of State for Transport today. The Secretary of State had not resisted the application, since he considered it to be a matter for the Court to decide whether disclosure should be made in cases such as these, police said. A spokesperson for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said: “The AAIB is not able to release protected air accident investigation records of its own accord. “Only the High Court can allow for their release. “We note today’s judgment and will now release the film footage to the Chief Constable of Sussex Police.” Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage 2) Like our Facebook page 3) Follow us on Twitter 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! Always the first with your local news. Be part of it.