SAS troops accused of war crimes not referred to police over morale fears, inquiry hears

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: SAS troops accused of war crimes not referred to police over morale fears, inquiry hears25 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJoel Gunter, Hannah O'Grady & Rory TinmanBBCThe SAS carried out night raids with Afghan special forces during the conflictA former chief of staff of UK Special Forces has told a public inquiry he believed war crimes allegations against the SAS were not referred to military police out of concern an investigation could disrupt operations and negatively affect morale. The officer, the second highest ranking in special forces at the time, said another factor in the decision was that evidence had in part come via a rival special forces regiment. The decision meant that military police did not learn for years of special forces concerns that the SAS was carrying out extra-judicial killings and submitting falsified reports.

The testimony came from closed-door evidence to the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan. The inquiry is investigating allegations that the SAS committed war crimes on operations between 2010 and 2013, including the killing of children and civilians. The latest batch of testimony was heard in 2024 but only released in summarised form by the inquiry on Friday.

The Details

Despite the severity of the allegations, the then-director of UK Special Forces decided in 2011 not to refer them to the Royal Military Police, instead commissioning an internal review into the tactics being used by the SAS. The decision was controversial because every commanding officer in the British military has a legal obligation to alert military police if they become aware that someone under their command may have committed a war crime. The internal review was led by a UKSF officer close to the SAS unit responsible for the raids under scrutiny, and signed off by the commanding officer of the unit.

It took just a week and found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The former chief of staff, known at the inquiry only as N2252, said he believed the director had felt a military police investigation would take too long to deliver results, and that an internal review "could be done quickly" and would "send a signal" to those responsible for the troubling operations. Summaries of closed evidence released by the inquiry over the past year have highlighted serious concerns among several senior officers at headquarters in the spring of 2011 that members of the SAS could have repeatedly strayed beyond the bounds of the law.

The concerns arose from a combination of whistleblower testimony and troubling reports coming back from Afghanistan, which showed a significant number of operations on which someone already detained and handcuffed had subsequently been shot dead by the SAS, as well as operations on which there were more people killed than weapons claimed to have been found at the scene.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.