Afghanistan Inquiry Chair Says SAS Evidence Delays ‘Extremely Troubling’

British soldiers from 21 Air Assault Battery Royal Artillery are silhouetted against the sky as they provide security for a meeting with the Afghan National Police at the fortress Qala-e-Bost in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, on May 17 2006. (John D. McHugh/AFP via Getty Images)

The chairman of an independent inquiry looking into allegations Britain’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) carried out “massacres” of young men during night raids in Afghanistan has described delays in providing evidence as “extremely troubling.”

The inquiry, which began in October, is investigating claims the SAS had a policy of executing men of “fighting age” in deliberate detention operations (DDOs) during the Taliban insurgency between 2010 and 2013.

Last month the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, complained to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) about the “unacceptable” delays in providing evidence for the third and final stage of the inquiry.

Elizabeth Mackie, on behalf of Treasury Solicitor Susanna McGibbon, wrote a letter to Sir Charles on Thursday in which she apologised for the delays and gave reasons for the MOD’s failure to supply the evidence required in time.

She said the government had already spent over £6 million on the inquiry so far and had 80 MOD people working solely on providing evidence, and was “pursuing multiple strategies to increase its resourcing as quickly as possible.”

Regarding the failure to disclose evidence within a certain time frame, Ms. Mackie said, “Difficulties have arisen where individuals have left the MOD or been deployed overseas for extended periods.”

MOD Criticises Lack of ‘Memory-Refreshing Documents’

In an apparent criticism of the inquiry, she also said, “Requests for evidence from individuals are not accompanied by any supporting or memory-refreshing documents, despite witnesses often being asked about events many years ago.”

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On Friday, at a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Sir Charles said, “The revelation that the MOD now expect to delay the DDO phase three inquiry timetable by at least six months is extremely troubling.”

He said did not want to “detract from the hard work” of the existing MOD legal and disclosure teams, who had helped with the smooth working of the first two phases of the inquiry, which have now concluded.

But he said, “However, the fact that the existing MOD teams were struggling to cope with the volume of work, and the pace of the inquiry, has unfortunately been evident for a long time.”

“Getting to the bottom of these grave allegations should not be prolonged any more than is absolutely necessary—for the sake of the reputation of the country’s special forces and armed forces more generally, and for the sake of all those affected, in particular the Afghan families,” Sir Charles added.

The independent statutory inquiry was commissioned by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace following a series of legal challenges from solicitors representing two Afghan families and investigations by The Sunday Times and the BBC’s “Panorama” programme.

The Saifullah and Noorzai families brought judicial review proceedings against the Ministry of Defence in 2019 and 2020, which challenged the MOD’s alleged failure to properly investigate the deaths.

Chair of the Afghanistan Inquiry, Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Oct. 9, 2023. (PA)

‘Public Interest’ in Inquiry Moving ‘At Pace’

Richard Hermer, KC, representing the Afghan families, said there was a “public interest” in the inquiry moving “at pace.”

He said of the government letter, “It appears to have come as something of a surprise to the Ministry of Defence that the work they are required to do is so extensive.”

Mr. Hermer told Sir Charles, “It is difficult to understand why it is only now that the penny is said to have dropped in the MOD about the requirement of the personnel to comply with orders from you.”

He went on to add that Mr. Justice Swift, when conducting a judicial review into the case, had described the MOD as having a “cavalier attitude” to disclosure and compliance with orders from the court.

Mr. Hermer said the inquiry would have to decide if there were credible allegations of “murder and cover-up” and he added, “If those allegations are shown to be well-founded then it will be imperative that prosecuting authorities are able to look at this matter and where appropriate to prosecute.”

Screen grab of veterans' minister Johnny Mercer giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Afghanistan in London on Feb. 21, 2024. (Independent Inquiry into Afghanistan/PA)

Sir Charles said it was “inevitable” the inquiry would be delayed and he said he hoped “adjustments can be made to other workstreams to take account of this unfortunate situation.”

Mercer Told to Name Names

In February veterans minister Johnny Mercer—who became a Conservative MP in 2015 after leaving the British Army the previous year—gave evidence to the inquiry.

He said several serving officers came to see him and made “serious allegations” about the actions of certain special forces in Afghanistan after he began a campaign against lawyers who were bringing what he believed was “vexatious litigation” against the armed forces and veterans.

Mr. Mercer said the officers were worried he would be left “out on a limb” and looking “foolish” if he insisted all the claims were untrue.

He refused to name any of those who had spoken to him and was warned by Sir Charles of the “potentially serious legal consequences” of his refusal.

Mr. Mercer has now been given until 4 p.m. on May 8 to provide a witness statement containing the names or face a potential prison sentence.