Let's not rush to judgement on our Special Forces

Telegraph

17-05-2025

The latest harrowing and graphic BBC Panorama documentary on alleged murders by UK Special Forces highlights again the reasons why Lord Justice Haddon-Cave was tasked to conduct his ongoing independent inquiry. A cast of actors, representing BBC sources, suggest that the cold-blooded and deliberate execution of unarmed prisoners was both common and endorsed by the chain of command. This is horrifying if true.
But such TV programmes lead to a fear within the Special Forces community that they are being well and truly hung out to dry: not by the Haddon-Cave inquiry, but by hidden voices that use documentaries rather than the inquiry as a forum to broadcast their observations. Special Forces personnel past and present also notice the fact that very few senior officers, serving or retired, have entered this public debate in their support – though General Sir Jim Hockenhull, the head of Strategic Command, has recently stated that he has 'supreme confidence' in them. It nonetheless feels to many in the UKSF community as though the Special Forces as a whole have already been tried and condemned.
Given the nature of the allegations, nobody is suggesting the inquiry is not necessary – if there is a legitimate case to be answered, let Haddon-Cave examine it and let the hard sword of justice fall. But while he does his work, let us not pass hasty judgement. Let's not forget the vital and dangerous work that the Special Forces have done for our country and still do today. Shakespeare may have been right when he put the words 'the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones' in the mouth of Mark Antony: but let's not jump to this gloomy conclusion on our SF too soon. Much that is good has been done and is still being done today: as those many, but silent, senior officers and agency chiefs that have directed many special operations in many places could attest.
Unlike those that choose to stand silent and plead issues of confidentiality or not wanting to upset an inquiry, I am prepared to speak on behalf of serving and ex-members of the UK Special Forces who have been in touch with me following the latest Panorama report. They are a truly valiant community and critical to the security of this country, especially at a time when threats are constantly mutating and growing.
Unlike them, I did not serve in the Special Forces but I have worked with UKSF and our intelligence agencies all over the world. I was privileged to witness amazingly brave and professional men and women doing the right thing in the most demanding circumstances. I have also encountered the savage brutality of Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria and everyone knows the evil that they do. Often it is only the work of the UKSF that keeps these threats away from us and our beloveds here at home.
Lt Col Richard Williams, a Commanding Officer of the SAS in Iraq, is worried about the reputation and the future of his former command:
'I do fear that many in our country, upset by messy endings in Iraq and Afghanistan, rattled by the coincident and resonant rhythms of the Panorama accusations and the Haddon-Cave inquiry, may start to lose faith in our Special Forces. This will certainly be the case if no one breaks free of dated MOD confidentiality barriers to provide some context and insight into our recent Special Forces history to counterbalance this consistently hostile narrative.'
If only the negative side of the story is told, our government could certainly reject the Special Forces' unique value, cripple their capability or even disband them. It has happened before. Despite the now famous achievements of the SAS in World War Two, not a single senior officer stood up for it once the war ended. This unique and ground-breaking capability was disbanded, with its many extraordinary veterans discharged and discarded. This was recognised as an error and the SAS was reformed again seven years later to conduct special operations in the jungles of Malaya. It has remained an essential part of the British order of battle ever since. I pray that we don't make that mistake again.
The late General Mike Jackson, one of our greatest generals and a friend of mine with whom I spent a wonderful day in Kenya last year before he died, would not have sat silent today, I judge. I am sure that if he were still alive, he'd have stepped forward publicly to demand that Haddon-Cave does his necessary job unhindered, that we must stand ready to accept his conclusions and learn lessons from them; but also, that we must not forget how important Special Forces are to the defence of the United Kingdom and that they should not be weakened or dispensed with as in the past. And he would be right.
Let's remember that these brave, skilled soldiers stand watch over us every day. As George Orwell pointed out, people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. Only last week, the men of B Squadron, 22 SAS helped our police deal with an Iranian terrorist threat in London. That's the same SAS squadron that dealt with the Iranian embassy siege in 1980. Let's not pre-judge them and offer our sincere support for all that they are doing to keep us safe.