[BBC] A 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.
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.
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| How much of this is a real problem and how much is due to approaching war as if it were a police investigation back home? |