LONDON: Senior UK special forces officers faced suspicions of a “deliberate policy” of murder by the SAS in Afghanistan but concealed evidence, an ongoing inquiry has heard.
In some instances, they took no action, while in others, they “sought to prevent adequate investigation,” as stated by a lawyer representing the families of those who were killed.
Internal emails have come to light, showing “incredulity” regarding official reports of SAS night raids in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of Afghans.
Concerns about potential wrongdoing by the SAS were well-known within the highest echelons of the government.
A government lawyer had previously emphasized that the UK armed forces adhere to the highest standards of conduct.
The independent inquiry, now in its third day, was initiated following a TV Channel investigation that revealed an SAS squadron’s involvement in the suspicious deaths of 54 individuals during a six-month tour.
After a raid on February 9, 2011, in which eight people were killed, a special forces officer messaged a colleague, stating, “Whilst murder and the [SAS] have oft been regular bed-fellows, this is beginning to look bone!” His colleague responded, “I find it depressing that it has come to this… Ultimately a massive failure of leadership… and when the next Wikileaks occurs then we will be dragged down with them.”
The primary focus of the inquiry is to determine whether UK special forces carried out executions during operations in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. It also aims to investigate the alleged cover-up of illegal activities and the inadequate investigations conducted by military police.
Representing seven families whose relatives were killed by UK Special Forces, Richard Hermer KC presented his submission primarily based on military documents. He described these documents as “revealing and shocking.”
The internal documents from special forces and military police investigations contained “extensive contemporaneous evidence of apparent attempts to cover up that wrongdoing.” This included the destruction of evidence, coaching of witnesses, and a willingness by those responsible for military discipline to accept implausible and often wholly incredible accounts of events.
According to Mr. Hermer, the documents suggested that successive directors of special forces were aware of serious suspected wrongdoing by the SAS but failed to ensure this information was passed to the Royal Military Police (RMP). They also failed to investigate the wrongdoing and prevent its recurrence.
One document highlighted the surprise of a senior special forces officer regarding special forces headquarters’ response to questions about an operation that led to the fatal shooting of a young mother and father and the serious wounding of their two infant sons.
After another incident, in May 2011, the most senior lawyer in special forces headquarters expressed concern that if a complaint was elevated to a higher level, “our political masters could knee-jerk and apply pressure for a SIB [military police] investigation.”
Serious suspicions of extrajudicial killings were widely recognized at the highest levels of the government, including within the MoD and No. 10 Downing Street.
In 2016, an email discussing an RMP investigation reached senior government officials, including Simon Case, the director general of the prime minister’s office. It detailed “a number of cases of suspected murders” being investigated by the military police.
That same year, the MoD’s permanent secretary, Stephen Lovegrove, expressed concern about a “culture” within UK special forces and suggested that there was a widespread view among government officials that it needed to “have its wings clipped.”
