MH17 plane crash: Father of Briton killed on downed flight says prosecution of four men could bring closure

The father of one of the 10 Britons killed when the passenger plane MH17 was shot down over Ukraine said the prosecution of four men could bring closure if grieving relatives found out why it happened.

All 298 passengers and crew on board passenger flight MH17 were killed on July 17, 2014, when a missile shattered the Boeing 777 midair.

Dutch police said three Russians and one Ukrainian have been charged with murder in the Netherlands, almost five years since the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur flight was hit by a missile over an area controlled by separatists.

Prosecutors have named three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, as suspects.

International arrest warrants have been issued. A trial is due to begin in the Netherlands on March 9, 2020.

Among the British passengers killed was Liam Sweeney, 28, who was travelling with his friend John Alder to see their beloved Newcastle United play in New Zealand.

His father Barry Sweeney, 57, from Killingworth, North Tyneside, welcomed the development as a "step forward" while acknowledging the great difficulty of ever seeing any of the suspects in court.

He said: "It's not going to bring anyone back, but if I found out why it happened, it would bring a bit of closure."

Mr Sweeney said Liam's mother died two years ago and his own wife is in poor health but he hoped to go to the Netherlands to watch the trial and support the other grieving families.

He said: "I would like to go if I can, when I see all my friends out there, as they all know, it makes us stronger."

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called on Russia to assist with the prosecution.

He said: "The charges brought against these individuals today show that the international community stands together against the impunity of those responsible for the despicable murder of 298 innocent people."

Agencies contributed to this report.