A senior military officer has told an independent inquiry that a cover-up of potential war crimes committed by UK special forces in Afghanistan appeared to stem from a “conscious decision” by the director of UK special forces. His testimony, disclosed in summaries of previously closed hearings and reported in part by The Times UK, described statistics from deliberate detention operations that “didn’t seem credible” and “rang alarm bells,” particularly the disparity between weapons recovered and the number of people killed.
The officer, identified only as N1466, served as assistant chief of staff for operations at UK special forces headquarters and said he believed the director, referred to as N1802, was aware of wrongdoing on the ground. Yet, he testified, the information was handled “in a way that indicated a desire to keep it low-profile,” with no meaningful discussion of possible criminal acts. He said he was convinced then, as he remains now, that the director “knew what was happening.”
The inquiry is examining alleged extrajudicial killings during operations between 2010 and 2013, including claims by Afghan families that UK forces carried out a “campaign of murder” and that senior officials within the Ministry of Defence attempted to obstruct investigations. Evidence released on Monday included accounts from several special forces members, shedding new light on internal concerns that were never fully pursued.
According to N1466, his concerns began in February 2011 when he noticed irregularities in operational reports. He said N1802 tightly controlled information to “limit the spread of the damage outside headquarters,” focusing instead on tactics, techniques and procedures used by the sub-unit under scrutiny. A review was launched shortly after a meeting between the two men, which N1466 believed was intended to warn the sub-unit rather than uncover wrongdoing. He said the speed of the director’s response, combined with the absence of any further inquiry, convinced him that senior leadership wanted the issue contained rather than investigated.
He described the alleged murders as “a stain” on the “sacrifice and service” of British soldiers and called the failure to escalate concerns “a failure of leadership at every step” of the chain of command. In an email at the time, he warned the director that if the allegations were more than rumours, elements of UK special forces had crossed into “indefensible ethical and legal behaviour.”
Another commander, known as N5461, told the inquiry he believed reports of extrajudicial killings were likely only the “tip of the iceberg.” He characterised the difference between lawful and unlawful killings as “wafer-thin,” underscoring the difficulty of detecting abuses without rigorous oversight.
Previous investigations, including Operation Northmoor, a £10 million inquiry launched in 2014, and Operation Cestro, conducted by the Royal Military Police, resulted in no prosecutions despite multiple referrals. The Ministry of Defence reiterated that the government remains committed to supporting the ongoing inquiry and emphasised its duty to maintain both accountability and support for special forces personnel. The inquiry continues.
