Tony Blair has reignited the row over the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash by writing to MPs to say he backs the judgement that the two pilots were guilty of "gross negligence".

Tory MP James Arbuthnot, who along with three other MPs had met the prime minister and the defence secretary to discuss the issue, said Blair's decision was "outrageous".

The crash on the Mull of Kintyre killed leading members of Britain's security services involved in Northern Ireland.