Probe into claims SAS troops ‘executed unarmed Afghan civilians’ will restore military’s reputation, top judge claims
A PROBE into claims of SAS killings will “restore the reputation of the military” the judge behind the inquiry has claimed.
Lord Justice Sir Charles Haddon-Cave launched a statutory inquiry today into unproven claims of killings and cover-ups by the unit whose motto is Who Dares Wins.
Sir Charles appealed for military whistle blowers to lift the lid on allegations that elite Special Forces soldiers murdered dozens of unarmed prisoners on night raids in southern Afghanistan.
He warned the troops he had powers to compel them to testify and produce secret documents in evidence.
But he insisted the inquiry – backed by Armed Forces chiefs and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – was vital for “restoring the reputation of the military”.
It follows repeated claims that elite Special Forces soldiers killed up to 54 people in suspicious circumstances between 2010 and 2013.
Read more on SAS
Speaking at the launch of the Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan he said the “extremely serious” allegations fell into three groups.
He said: “First, that numerous unlawful killings were carried out by some members of the British Armed Forces.
“Second, what these unlawful killings were covered up to prevent what had taken place ever coming to light.
“And third, that the lengthy investigations carried out by the Royal Military Police were inadequate.”
Sir Charles, who previously led an inquiry into an RAF Nimrod crash in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, said he was confident troops would cooperate.
But he said much of the inquiry would take place in secret for “national security” reasons.
He said: “We are looking at restoring the reputation of the military.
“Either the allegations are untrue, or if some of them are true then the military and the country can hold its head high and say we have looked into these properly and thoroughly.”
He added: “It is clearly important that anyone who has broken the law is referred to the relevant authorities for investigation.
“Equally, those who have done nothing wrong should rightly have the cloud of suspicion lifted from them.
“This is critical, both for the reputation of the Armed Forces and the country.”
He repeatedly refused to name the SAS as the regiment under scrutiny – insisting that his terms of reference refer to “British Armed Forces”.
But he said the inquiry followed exposés by The Sun’s sister paper The Sunday Times which first raised questions over SAS killings in 2020 and a BBC Panorama documentary last year.
He also confirmed that he had been in touch with investigators in Australia, where an Aussie SAS soldier was charged with war crimes this week.
British SAS insiders, whose motto is Who Dares Wins, first raised the alarm in 2011 after a suspicious number of raids by their comrades led to prisoners being killed AFTER they had been detained.
Official accounts of the missions claimed suspected Taliban captives reached for hidden weapons after they were handcuffed and led back inside the homes and compounds where they were seized.
Emails revealed in 2020 showed an SAS troop sergeant called one mission “the latest massacre”.
An officer admitted “we are getting something wrong”.
A senior commander raised concerns of a “deliberate policy…to engage and kill fighting-aged males on target even when they did not pose a threat”.
The MoD said the enquiry led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave would “investigate and report on allegations of wrongdoing by the British Armed Forces in relation to their conduct of deliberate detention operations in Afghanistan” from 2010 to 2013.
The allegations were first reported by The Sunday Times in 2017, but the MoD denied wrongdoing.