Latest news with #UKSpecialForces
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
UK officer who oversaw rejections of Afghan asylum claims could be linked to war crimes inquiry, High Court hears
The UK special forces officer in charge of assessing resettlement applications from Afghan commandos may have been connected to an ongoing inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by British troops, the High Court has heard. Thousands of applications from individuals with credible links to two Afghan elite commando units CF33 and ATF444 were rejected by the Ministry of Defence, despite the soldiers being paid and trained by the British. Some of the Afghan commandos who applied for sanctuary in Britain served alongside the UK special forces units that are at the centre of the war crimes inquiry. The former soldiers were left at the mercy of the Taliban, with some being murdered because of their service with the British. The MoD is undertaking a review of some 2,000 applications of Afghans linked to the units, after The Independent, along with Lighthouse Reports, Sky News and the BBC exposed how they were being denied help. The review comes amid an ongoing inquiry into alleged war crimes committed on UK special forces raids between 2010 and 2013. Members of the UKSF have been accused of killing unarmed Afghans and planting weapons on them. It has emerged that UK special forces had power over the UK sanctuary applications of Afghan allies who could be potential witnesses to the inquiry. MoD caseworkers would refer applications to a UKSF liaison officer, who would make further enquiries about the Afghans' connections to special forces soldiers. A legal challenge is being brought over how the MoD is assessing the applications from these two units, known as The Triples. The High Court heard on Thursday that a UKSF liaison officer who had power over the resettlement applications was also connected with matters being probed by the Afghan war crimes inquiry. In a summary of evidence heard in a closed hearing, the MoD confirmed that 'because of the role(s) he held at the relevant time, the UKSF liaison officer may have had some connection to the matters within the scope of the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan'. It continued: 'He will through the nature of his role(s) in UKSF have liaised with Operation Northmoor '. Operation Northmoor was a Royal Military Police investigation that looked into 11 separate special forces raids in Afghanistan. Though allegations of bias were raised in the court case, the MoD said an internal investigation 'found no evidence of bias or hidden motives on the part of the UKSF liaison officer'. Instead they said that the UKSF officer's 'approach to decision-making was lax and unprofessional'. They found that the officer would make more thorough enquiries in relation to some Afghan applicants and not others. He also told UKSF units that if they didn't reply to his enquiries about certain Afghan applicants he would assume that the unit had no relevant information and would reject the application. The UKSF officer also reached 'decisions far too quickly', the MoD said, and would focus on the Afghan soldiers' seniority rather than their eligibility. Documents submitted to the High Court revealed that the UKSF liaison officer was replaced following a January 2024 meeting between senior civil servants and then-Veterans minister Johnny Mercer who presented his concerns about bias in the process. In February 2024, ministers announced a review into how Triples applications had been handled after identifying decisions were 'inconsistent' and 'not robust'. In documents submitted by the MoD to the High Court, it was revealed that by May 2022 caseworkers assessing Triples applications were referring them to UKSF personnel for input. The court heard that the senior civil servant in charge of Afghan resettlement applications to the MoD, Natalie Moore, was concerned about how decisions were being made as early as October 2023. She commissioned an internal review into the process, which identified failings in the decision making but did not find evidence of bias related to the Afghan war crimes inquiry. In a witness statement, Ms Moore said that she became concerned about the 'changes in decision making approach at a time when an identified individual became UKSF liaison officer'. The liaison officer oversaw decisions during a 'sprint' to clear a backlog of over 5,000 applications in the summer of 2023. During this time there were between 22 and 43 caseworkers and just one UKSF liaison officer to give input on the decisions, the court heard. Mr Justice Dingemans put to the MoD that the process 'was inevitably bound to fail' with just one UKSF officer dealing with so many cases. The court heard that during the summer 'sprint' to speed through applications some 1585 cases were rejected. Ms Moore also said that she had recently been made aware about internal concerns regarding UKSF's handling of cases from as early as October 2022. She told the court that 'from summer 2022 lax procedures were being followed by UKSF that led to large numbers [of Triples cases] being rejected'. The MoD realised that their caseworkers were 'overly reliant' on UKSF personnel, and were 'not consistently exercising their own independent judgement'. The government admitted that this led to UKSF personnel determining resettlement applications and rejecting them. However Ms Moore said she believed incorrect decisions on Triples' cases 'arose from the poor decision-making process' rather than bias of the UKSF. Thomas de la Mare KC, for the claimant, said that the rejections amounted to 'effectively a blanket practice'. The hearing is due to conclude on Friday, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
General accused of locking away SAS war crimes evidence is made navy chief
A general accused of failing to report evidence of war crimes committed by the SAS in Afghanistan has been appointed as the new head of the Royal Navy. Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins – the first Royal Marine to become First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff – replaces Adm Sir Ben Key, who was removed from it last week while under investigation over allegations of misconduct. However, he has become the focus of controversy this week amid reports that he oversaw the rejection of resettlement claims made by Afghan troops who served with UK special forces. Jenkins also led UK Special Forces (UKSF) in Afghanistan when alleged war crimes were committed and which are the subject of a public inquiry looking specifically at the period between mid-2010 and mid-2013. The BBC's Panorama reported that he had appointed a UKSF officer under his command to assess the Afghan commando applications to resettle in Britain after special forces headquarters was given a controversial veto. Thousands of applications from individuals with credible evidence of service with Afghan special forces were then rejected, according to the investigative programme. It was also previously reported that Jenkins had been warned in writing in 2011 that SAS soldiers were claiming to have executed handcuffed detainees in Afghanistan. Instead of referring the details to military police, he was reported to have placed it in a classified dossier and locked it in a safe. The Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment. The general had been in line to become the UK's national security adviser until Keir Starmer last year cancelled the appointment made by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak. John Healey, the defence secretary, said on Thursday that Jenkins was 'a proven leader with a distinguished career in both the military and at the core of government'. 'I know he will deliver in this pivotal role, making Britain secure at home and strong abroad,' he added. In a statement, Jenkins said: 'Throughout my career, I have always been motivated by the vital role the Royal Navy has in keeping our nation safe. 'To do that now, we need to accelerate our return to a war fighting force that is ready for conflict, expand our modernisation efforts and deliver the Royal Navy our nation needs.' The Chief of the Defence Staff, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, described Jenkins as one of the outstanding Royal Marines of his generation, who brought 'a wealth of operational and organisational expertise'. 'In a more dangerous and demanding world, Gen Jenkins has the instincts and ambition needed to continue the modernisation of the Royal Navy, ensuring it can meet future threats and continue to safeguard our nation's security and prosperity,' Radakin said. Jenkins was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1990. After becoming a colonel, he was deployed for 12 months to Afghanistan, for which he was awarded an OBE, and returned to the UK in 2012 as the military assistant to the prime minister, David Cameron. After two years, he was promoted to brigadier and took up a civilian appointment in the Cabinet Office as the deputy national security adviser for conflict. After returning to the military in 2017, he took command of 3 Commando Brigade, overseeing operational deployments around the world, and was promoted to major general in 2019. In August 2022 he was appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff and promoted to general. Since August 2024, he has been the strategic adviser to the defence secretary. The appointment was made as the activities of UK special forces in Afghanistan came under the spotlight again this week, after former personnel accused colleagues of committing war crimes there and in Iraq, making the allegation that they executed civilians including a child. Members of the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Navy's elite special forces regiment, are accused for the first time, along with soldiers from the SAS. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the department was fully committed to supporting the independent inquiry relating to Afghanistan. 'It is not appropriate for the MoD to comment on allegations which may be within the scope of the statutory inquiry, or to speculate on outcomes,' they added.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top UK Special Forces general oversaw blocking of Afghan 'war-crime' witnesses to Britain
A top general who failed to report evidence of alleged SAS war crimes in Afghanistan later oversaw the rejection of hundreds of UK resettlement applications from Afghan commandos who served with the elite regiment, BBC Panorama can reveal. Gen Sir Gwyn Jenkins led UK Special Forces (UKSF) in Afghanistan at a time when alleged war crimes were committed. He later appointed a UKSF officer under his command, who had also served in Afghanistan, to assess the Afghan commando applications after special forces headquarters was given a controversial veto over them. Thousands of applications from individuals with credible evidence of service with Afghan Special Forces, including the units known as the Triples, were then rejected, leaving many of the former commandos at the mercy of the Taliban. The rejections are controversial because they came at a time when a judge-led public inquiry in the UK had begun investigating the SAS for alleged war crimes on operations on which the Triples were present. If the Afghan commandos were in the UK, they could be called as witnesses - but the inquiry has no power to compel testimony from foreign nationals who are overseas. Some of those denied visas were subsequently tortured and killed by the Taliban, according to former colleagues, family members and lawyers. According to internal emails and testimony from within the Ministry of Defence (MoD), obtained by Panorama, the UK Special Forces officer appointed by Gen Jenkins stood over civil service caseworkers from the resettlement scheme and instructed them to reject the Triples applications, one after another, on what sources described as spurious grounds. A senior government source close to the process told the BBC that the UK Special Forces officer "would never have acted without direction", adding that "everything would have gone through Gwyn Jenkins". At the time, in 2021-22, Gen Jenkins was the head of all UK Special Forces. He is now the chief strategic adviser to the Defence Secretary John Healey and is tipped to take over as First Sea Lord - the head of the Royal Navy. Gen Jenkins was made aware of allegations that the SAS was committing extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan, but he failed to report the allegations to military police - Panorama has previously revealed - despite a legal obligation to do so. The suspected unlawful killings continued. Panorama has now heard eyewitness testimony from veterans who served in UK Special Forces detailing alleged war crimes stretching over more than a decade and involving the SBS as well as the SAS. Gen Jenkins did not respond to the BBC's request for comment on this story. The MoD responded on his behalf. It said in a statement that there is no evidence it has tried to prevent former Afghan troops giving evidence to the Inquiry and that "anyone can provide evidence… no matter where in the world they are". The MoD added that it was "fully committed to delivering on our pledge to relocate and resettle eligible Afghans and their families to the UK". "Each resettlement application is decided on its own merits against the criteria outlined in the ARAP [Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy] and immigration rules," the statement said. The rejections of the Triples applications left caseworkers from the ARAP scheme questioning the validity of the process, given that many of the applications contained compelling evidence of service alongside British special forces. Hundreds of rejections have since been overturned following a government review. A letter obtained by Panorama shows that concerns were raised among cabinet ministers in January 2024 over the existence of the UK Special Forces' veto over the Triples applications. The then Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer wrote to senior Conservatives to say the role of UKSF in denying the applications was "deeply inappropriate" and "a significant conflict of interest, that should be obvious to all". He had been compelled to write, he added, because he had been shown evidence "that 5 members of these units have been killed having been rejected for resettlement". Mr Mercer, who served alongside the SBS in Afghanistan before becoming an MP, went on to warn that the role of UKSF in the process had a "very high chance of being exposed by the Afghan Inquiry", which could "lead to serious questions of all those Ministers involved in the process". The Triples units - so-called because their designations were CF 333 and ATF 444 - were set up, trained, and paid by UK Special Forces and supported the SAS and SBS on operations targeting Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. When the country fell to the Taliban in 2021, they were judged to be in grave danger of reprisal and were entitled to apply for resettlement to the UK. But, according to MoD documents obtained by Panorama, thousands of ARAP applications containing credible evidence of service alongside UK Special Forces were subsequently rejected. BBC Panorama first revealed last year that it had been UK Special Forces - the very force that trained and served with the Triples - that rejected them. "We heard some of our Triples were already killed by the Taliban," said Jumakhan Joya, a former Afghan special forces commanding officer. "Some of them are in jail in a Taliban prison. Some of them have already been disabled by the Taliban. They're breaking their hands, their legs, their head," he said. Mr Joya told the BBC he believed that the existence of the public inquiry was the "only reason" their applications had been vetoed. The rejections and reported reprisals have outraged some former members of British special forces. "What's happened is horrendous. It is a betrayal and it shames us all," one former UK Special Forces officer told Panorama. Asked by Panorama about the government's rejection of Triples' applications, Bruce Houlder KC, who as a former director of service prosecutions was responsible for bringing charges against members of the armed forces, said the government must have known the Triples would have "highly relevant" evidence that would be "much easier to obtain" if they were in the UK. "I can't think of any fair reason why we should exclude people from their right to live in this country, which is extended to others, simply because they might be in possession of information which would embarrass special forces," Mr Houlder said. "If that is the reason, it's disreputable and it can't be supported in any way." Do you have information about this story that you want to share? Get in touch using SecureDrop, a highly anonymous and secure way of whistleblowing to the BBC which uses the TOR network. Or by using the Signal messaging app, an end-to-end encrypted message service designed to protect your data. SecureDrop or Signal: 0044 7714 956 936 Please note that the SecureDrop link will only work in a Tor browser. For information on keeping secure and anonymous, here's some advice on how to use SecureDrop. It's proved a really important way for people to get in touch with us in the past. Ex-UK Special Forces break silence on 'war crimes' by colleagues
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Top UK Special Forces general oversaw blocking of Afghan 'war-crime' witnesses to Britain
A top general who failed to report evidence of alleged SAS war crimes in Afghanistan later oversaw the rejection of hundreds of UK resettlement applications from Afghan commandos who served with the elite regiment, BBC Panorama can Sir Gwyn Jenkins led UK Special Forces (UKSF) in Afghanistan at a time when alleged war crimes were committed. He later appointed a UKSF officer under his command, who had also served in Afghanistan, to assess the Afghan commando applications after special forces headquarters was given a controversial veto over of applications from individuals with credible evidence of service with Afghan Special Forces, including the units known as the Triples, were then rejected, leaving many of the former commandos at the mercy of the rejections are controversial because they came at a time when a judge-led public inquiry in the UK had begun investigating the SAS for alleged war crimes on operations on which the Triples were the Afghan commandos were in the UK, they could be called as witnesses - but the inquiry has no power to compel testimony from foreign nationals who are of those denied visas were subsequently tortured and killed by the Taliban, according to former colleagues, family members and to internal emails and testimony from within the Ministry of Defence (MoD), obtained by Panorama, the UK Special Forces officer appointed by Gen Jenkins stood over civil service caseworkers from the resettlement scheme and instructed them to reject the Triples applications, one after another, on what sources described as spurious grounds.A senior government source close to the process told the BBC that the UK Special Forces officer "would never have acted without direction", adding that "everything would have gone through Gwyn Jenkins". At the time, in 2021-22, Gen Jenkins was the head of all UK Special Forces. He is now the chief strategic adviser to the Defence Secretary John Healey and is tipped to take over as First Sea Lord - the head of the Royal Jenkins was made aware of allegations that the SAS was committing extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan, but he failed to report the allegations to military police - Panorama has previously revealed - despite a legal obligation to do so. The suspected unlawful killings has now heard eyewitness testimony from veterans who served in UK Special Forces detailing alleged war crimes stretching over more than a decade and involving the SBS as well as the Jenkins did not respond to the BBC's request for comment on this story. The MoD responded on his behalf. It said in a statement that there is no evidence it has tried to prevent former Afghan troops giving evidence to the Inquiry and that "anyone can provide evidence… no matter where in the world they are".The MoD added that it was "fully committed to delivering on our pledge to relocate and resettle eligible Afghans and their families to the UK"."Each resettlement application is decided on its own merits against the criteria outlined in the ARAP [Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy] and immigration rules," the statement said. The rejections of the Triples applications left caseworkers from the ARAP scheme questioning the validity of the process, given that many of the applications contained compelling evidence of service alongside British special of rejections have since been overturned following a government review.A letter obtained by Panorama shows that concerns were raised among cabinet ministers in January 2024 over the existence of the UK Special Forces' veto over the Triples then Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer wrote to senior Conservatives to say the role of UKSF in denying the applications was "deeply inappropriate" and "a significant conflict of interest, that should be obvious to all".He had been compelled to write, he added, because he had been shown evidence "that 5 members of these units have been killed having been rejected for resettlement".Mr Mercer, who served alongside the SBS in Afghanistan before becoming an MP, went on to warn that the role of UKSF in the process had a "very high chance of being exposed by the Afghan Inquiry", which could "lead to serious questions of all those Ministers involved in the process".The Triples units - so-called because their designations were CF 333 and ATF 444 - were set up, trained, and paid by UK Special Forces and supported the SAS and SBS on operations targeting Taliban leaders in the country fell to the Taliban in 2021, they were judged to be in grave danger of reprisal and were entitled to apply for resettlement to the according to MoD documents obtained by Panorama, thousands of ARAP applications containing credible evidence of service alongside UK Special Forces were subsequently rejected. BBC Panorama first revealed last year that it had been UK Special Forces - the very force that trained and served with the Triples - that rejected them."We heard some of our Triples were already killed by the Taliban," said Jumakhan Joya, a former Afghan special forces commanding officer. "Some of them are in jail in a Taliban prison. Some of them have already been disabled by the Taliban. They're breaking their hands, their legs, their head," he Joya told the BBC he believed that the existence of the public inquiry was the "only reason" their applications had been vetoed. The rejections and reported reprisals have outraged some former members of British special forces. "What's happened is horrendous. It is a betrayal and it shames us all," one former UK Special Forces officer told by Panorama about the government's rejection of Triples' applications, Bruce Houlder KC, who as a former director of service prosecutions was responsible for bringing charges against members of the armed forces, said the government must have known the Triples would have "highly relevant" evidence that would be "much easier to obtain" if they were in the UK."I can't think of any fair reason why we should exclude people from their right to live in this country, which is extended to others, simply because they might be in possession of information which would embarrass special forces," Mr Houlder said."If that is the reason, it's disreputable and it can't be supported in any way." Do you have information about this story that you want to share?Get in touch using SecureDrop, a highly anonymous and secure way of whistleblowing to the BBC which uses the TOR by using the Signal messaging app, an end-to-end encrypted message service designed to protect your or Signal: 0044 7714 956 936Please note that the SecureDrop link will only work in a Tor browser. For information on keeping secure and anonymous, here's some advice on how to use proved a really important way for people to get in touch with us in the past.
Shafaq News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Ex-UK Special Forces break silence on 'war crimes' in Iraq and Afghanistan
Shafaq News/ Former members of UK Special Forces have broken years of silence to give BBC Panorama eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes committed by colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan. Giving their accounts publicly for the first time, the veterans described seeing members of the SAS murder unarmed people in their sleep and execute handcuffed detainees, including children. "They handcuffed a young boy and shot him," recalled one veteran who served with the SAS in Afghanistan. "He was clearly a child, not even close to fighting age." Killing of detainees "became routine", the veteran said. "They'd search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them", before cutting off the plastic handcuffs used to restrain people and "planting a pistol" by the body, he said. The new testimony includes allegations of war crimes stretching over more than a decade, far longer than the three years currently being examined by a judge-led public inquiry in the UK. The SBS, the Royal Navy's elite special forces regiment, is also implicated for the first time in the most serious allegations - executions of unarmed and wounded people. A veteran who served with the SBS said some troops had a "mob mentality", describing their behaviour on operations as "barbaric". "I saw the quietest guys switch, show serious psychopathic traits," he said. "They were lawless. They felt untouchable." Special Forces were deployed to Afghanistan to protect British troops from Taliban fighters and bombmakers. The conflict was a deadly one for members of the UK's armed forces – 457 lost their lives and thousands more were wounded. Asked by the BBC about the new eyewitness testimony, the Ministry of Defence said that it was "fully committed" to supporting the ongoing public inquiry into the alleged war crimes and that it urged all veterans with relevant information to come forward. It said that it was "not appropriate for the MoD to comment on allegations" which may be in the inquiry's scope. 'Psychotic murderers' in the regiment The eyewitness testimony offers the most detailed public account of the killings to date from former members of UK Special Forces (UKSF), the umbrella group which contains the SAS, SBS and several supporting regiments. The testimony, from more than 30 people who served with or alongside UK Special Forces, builds on years of reporting by BBC Panorama into allegations of extrajudicial killings by the SAS. Panorama can also reveal for the first time that then Prime Minister David Cameron was repeatedly warned during his tenure that UK Special Forces were killing civilians in Afghanistan. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of a de facto code of silence around special forces operations, the eyewitnesses told the BBC that the laws of war were being regularly and intentionally broken by the country's most elite regiments during operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those laws state that on such operations people can be deliberately killed only when they pose a direct threat to the lives of British troops or others. But members of the SAS and SBS were making their own rules, the eyewitnesses said. "If a target had popped up on the list two or three times before, then we'd go in with the intention of killing them, there was no attempt to capture them," said one veteran who served with the SAS, referring to people who had been previously captured, questioned and then released. "Sometimes we'd check we'd identified the target, confirm their ID, then shoot them," he said. "Often the squadron would just go and kill all the men they found there." One witness who served with the SAS said that killing could become "an addictive thing to do" and that some members of the elite regiment were "intoxicated by that feeling" in Afghanistan. There were "lots of psychotic murderers", he said. "On some operations, the troop would go into guesthouse-type buildings and kill everyone there," he said. "They'd go in and shoot everyone sleeping there, on entry. It's not justified, killing people in their sleep." A veteran who served with the SBS told the BBC that after bringing an area under control, assault teams would sweep through the area shooting anyone on the ground, checking the bodies and killing anyone left alive. "It was expected, not hidden. Everyone knew," he said. Intentionally killing wounded people who do not pose a threat would be a clear breach of international law. But the SBS veteran told Panorama that wounded people were routinely killed. He described one operation during which a medic was treating someone who had been shot but was still breathing. "Then one of our blokes came up to him. There was a bang. He'd been shot in the head at point-blank range," he said. The killings were "completely unnecessary," he added. "These are not mercy killings. It's murder." More junior members of assault teams were told by more senior SAS operators to kill male detainees, according to the testimony, using instructions such as "he's not coming back to base with us" or "this detainee, you make sure he doesn't come off target". Detainees were people who had surrendered, been searched by special forces, and were typically handcuffed. British and international law forbid troops from deliberately killing unarmed civilians or prisoners of war. A former SAS operator also described learning of an operation in Iraq during which someone was executed. "It was pretty clear from what I could glean that he posed no threat, he wasn't armed. It's disgraceful. There's no professionalism in that," the former operator said. The killing was never properly investigated, he added. According to the SAS veteran, the problem started long before the regiment moved across to Afghanistan and "senior commanders were aware of that". The testimony, as well as new video evidence obtained by the BBC from SAS operations in Iraq in 2006, also supports previous reporting by Panorama that SAS squadrons kept count of their kills to compete with one another. Sources told the BBC that some members of the SAS kept their own individual counts, and that one operator personally killed dozens of people on one six-month tour of Afghanistan. "It seemed like he was trying to get a kill on every operation, every night someone got killed," a former colleague said. The operator was "notorious in the squadron, he genuinely seemed like a psychopath," the former colleague added. In one incident that sources say became infamous inside the SAS, the operator allegedly slit the throat of an injured Afghan man after telling an officer not to shoot the man again. It was "because he wanted to go and finish the wounded guy off with his knife," another former colleague said. "He wanted to, you know, blood his knife." Knowledge of the alleged crimes was not confined to small teams or individual squadrons, according to the testimony. Within the UK Special Forces command structure, "everyone knew" what was happening, said one veteran. "I'm not taking away from personal responsibility, but everyone knew," he said. "There was implicit approval for what was happening." To avoid scrutiny of the killings, eyewitnesses said, members of the SAS and SBS would plant so-called "drop weapons" on the bodies of the dead, to make it look as though they had been armed in the photographs routinely taken by special forces teams at the scene. "There was a fake grenade they'd take with them onto target, it couldn't detonate," said a former SAS operator. Another veteran said operators would carry AK-47 rifles which had a folding stock because they were easier to fit into their rucksacks and "easier to bring onto a target and plant by a body". Reports were 'fiction' Officers would then help to falsify post-operational reports in order to avoid scrutiny for the actions of assault teams on the ground, according to the testimony. "We understood how to write up serious incident reviews so they wouldn't trigger a referral to the military police," one of the veterans said. "If it looked like a shooting could represent a breach of the rules of conflict, you'd get a phone call from the legal adviser or one of the staff officers in HQ. They'd pick you up on it and help you to clarify the language. 'Do you remember someone making a sudden move?' 'Oh yeah, I do now.' That sort of thing. It was built into the way we operated." The reports were "a fiction", another UKSF veteran said. An intelligence officer who worked with the SBS described reports which said they had been caught in a firefight, while the photos showed bodies with "multiple clean headshots". Falsified paperwork could help prevent an investigation by the Royal Military Police, but British special forces operations generated deep concern from Afghan commanders and Afghan government officials. David Cameron - who made seven visits to Afghanistan as prime minister between June 2010 and November 2013, the period now under scrutiny by the SAS public inquiry, was repeatedly made aware of the concerns by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, according to multiple people who attended the meetings. Mr Karzai "consistently, repeatedly mentioned this issue", former Afghan national security adviser Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta told Panorama. He said Lord Cameron could have been left in no doubt that there were allegations of civilians, including children, being killed during operations carried out by UK Special Forces. The Afghan president was "so consistent with his complaints about night raids, civilian casualties and detentions that there was no senior Western diplomat or military leader who would have missed the fact that this was a major irritant for him," said Gen Douglas Lute, a former US ambassador to Nato. Gen Lute said it would have been "extraordinarily unusual if there were a claim against British forces that the British chain of command was not aware of". A spokesperson for Lord Cameron told Panorama that "to the best of Lord Cameron's recollection" the issues raised by President Karzai were about Nato forces in general and that "specific incidents with respect to UK Special Forces were not raised". The spokesperson also said that it was "right that we await the official findings of the Inquiry", adding that "any suggestion that Lord Cameron colluded in covering up allegations of serious criminal wrongdoing is total nonsense." Unlike many other countries, including the US and France, the UK has no parliamentary oversight of its elite special forces regiments. Strategic responsibility for their actions falls ultimately to the prime minister, along with the defence secretary and head of special forces. Bruce Houlder KC - a former director of service prosecutions, responsible for bringing charges and prosecuting those serving in the Armed Forces - told Panorama that he hoped the public inquiry would examine the extent of Lord Cameron's knowledge of alleged civilian casualties on British special forces operations. "You need to know how far the rot went up," Mr Houlder said.
