MoD admits British Special Forces are at centre of war crimes inquiry
Ministry of Defence admits British Special Forces are at the centre of a major war crimes inquiry following legal challenge
- The Mail’s intervention led MoD to axe attempt to impose reporting restrictions
- Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed allegations against UK special forces
A legal challenge by the Daily Mail has forced the Ministry of Defence to confirm British Special Forces are at the centre of a major war crimes inquiry.
The government had previously restricted any mention of units, such as the Special Air Service, on the grounds that it does not discuss their operations.
The Mail’s intervention convinced the MoD to abandon an attempt to impose reporting restrictions on the inquiry, which is being held at the Royal Courts of Justice.
At a legal hearing yesterday the MoD rescinded a bid to restrict any mention of UK Special Forces units in relation to reports of unlawful killings.
The U-turn came after the Mail approached the chair of the inquiry, Lord Justice Haddon-Cave.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that the allegations in the inquiry related to the conduct of UK Special Forces
Following our submission, the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed: ‘The inquiry is now reaching the stage of substantive hearings and I can confirm the allegations relate to the conduct of UK Special Forces.
‘Outside of this very specific context, such confirmation should not be seen to alter the longstanding position of this government, and previous governments, to not comment on the deployment or activities of the UK Special Forces.’
The Daily Mail has previously revealed how SAS soldiers were involved in alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
These incidents included suspected Taliban gunmen being killed in UK custody.
In an exclusive interview, a SAS soldier acknowledged the practice of shooting unarmed individuals.
UK troops would then attempt to make their deaths appear legitimate by placing weapons next to their corpses and taking photographs – so it looked like they were killed in combat.
Up to 54 individuals, many of them suspected Taliban members, died in suspicious circumstances from 2010 to 2012.
The MoD had previously argued the inquiry should restrict from the public ‘any evidence or documents or words or passages of documents, that tend to confirm or deny the alleged involvement of UK Special Forces’.
After the intervention by the Mail, MoD lawyers said the ministry ‘proposed to abandon that part of their application’.
Lawyers for Afghan families seeking justice following the deaths of family members have accused the MoD of ‘covering up’ evidence about war crimes.
Speaking at the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday, Tessa Gregory from Leigh Day said the MoD was ‘seeking to shut the door and prevent evidence being heard in public’.
UK troops would attempt to make deaths appear legitimate by placing weapons next to their corpses and taking photographs – so it looked like they were killed in combat
No individual SAS soldiers will be named in the hearings. Some of the evidence will be heard on camera for national security reasons.
The inquiry could lead to a fresh criminal investigation into the allegations.
It comes after a judge in Australia determined that an SAS soldier from that country did commit serious war crimes in Afghanistan.
The finding in a civil case was handed down against Ben Roberts-Smith, an Australian SAS soldier who had launched a libel action against media outlets who suggested he murdered civilians.
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