THE RELATIVES of a former East Lancashire journalist killed in the attack on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 fear the first official report into the tragedy will not reveal the full truth of how the plane was shot down over Ukraine.

More than a year after MH17 was downed in July 2014, Dutch air officials are tomorrow set to publish their report into the crash which claimed 298 lives.

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The report is expected to be critical of Malaysia Airlines for flying the plane over a conflict zone, and also question the Ukrainian air traffic control in approving the flight path.

But while the report is expected to confirm that fragments of a missile were found in the aircraft wreckage, the Dutch Safety Board is not likely to identify who was responsible for firing the rocket at MH17.

Ten UK citizens were among the dead, including Glenn Thomas, 49, who worked for a couple of years at Granada’s East Lancashire bureau in Daisyfield, Blackburn, in the 1990s.

He also worked on the Blackpool Citizen newspaper, a sister publication of the Lancashire Telegraph, in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

His nephew, Jordan Withers, told BBC Inside Out North West: “As a relative of someone who died without a proper explanation, I think it’s only natural that you want answers.”

Mr Withers has tried to speak to the Dutch Safety Board about the investigation but officials have refused to meet him at their offices in The Hague.

“Glenn worked for the World Health Organisation – he was always there when I needed help and advice,” added Mr Withers.

“I went to Ukraine six months after the crash to try to find out why Glenn had been murdered. The answers weren’t easy to find. Parts of the country are in the throes of a civil war.”

Mr Withers said he fears the Dutch Safety Board report will fail to answer many of the questions he and other relatives wish to be answered.

“Justice isn’t going to be swift for my Uncle, or any of the other victims”, Mr Withers added. “But, for all of them I hope it won’t be denied.”