Ex-police chief condemns investigation into alleged Afghanistan war crimes by UK Special Forces

Published

2 months ago

January 27, 2025

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A retired senior police chief has told an inquiry the Royal Military Police’s initial investigation into alleged war crimes by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan was “slow to commence, sluggish in its progress, and never properly resourced”.

Alan Pughsley QPM, who has 39 years of experience in investigating serious and organised crimes, had been asked by the Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan to produce a desktop review of two RMP investigations including Operation Northmoor which began in March 2014.

The inquiry is investigating claims made in a BBC Panorama programme that innocent Afghan civilians were executed by three out of four SAS squadrons between 2010 and 2013.

Evidence submitted to the inquiry suggests as many as 80 people were killed this way during a campaign of night raids.

The RMP launched Operation Northmoor on 31 March 2014, three years after the alleged war crimes.

Mr Pughsley, whose conclusions have not yet been finalised, said the most senior investigating officer (SIO) lacked experience for such a significant investigation.

He identified Operation Northmoor as a Category A investigation – the most serious of its kind but said it “did not progress at the pace, breadth or depth that is required for a Category A investigation”.

He said the investigation’s gold commanders kept few records, minutes were scant, and very few key witnesses were spoken to on time.

Guidance from independent advisors was often not heeded, he said, adding he had not seen sufficient evidence of proper handovers being made when multiple changes were made to investigating staff.

The inquiry heard there was a “confusing landscape,” where at one time four external advisers were offering differing guidelines to the RMP investigators.

A critical delay in starting the investigation, which Mr Pughsley said was not the fault of the RMP, denied early opportunities for gathering contemporaneous witness accounts.

The former police chief criticised the appointment of some investigators saying many lacked skills and experience, including an SIO (Senior Investigating Officer) who had only just attended the relevant training course and had never acted as the SIO in any, or any serious, investigation.

“There was consideration to whether or not a Home Office Police Force could or should’ve been utilised as lead investigators”, Mr Pughsley said before explaining that the Ministry of Defence chose the RMP instead to lead.

“I would’ve asked a Home Office police force to identify an incredibly experienced ISO,” he said.

The inquiry’s counsel Mr Oliver Glasgow KC put to Mr Pughsley: “We remind ourselves, this would have been an enormous challenge for even a highly experienced SIO from the Home Office Police Force.”

Mr Pughsley replied: “Absolutely right.”

Four years to set up resources

Operation Northmoor was described by the former police chief as “a complex and incredibly serious investigation that was fundamentally poorly resourced.”

The inquiry heard how it took two years to find premises and two more to get all the required resources in place.

“If you feel not supported whether as an investigator or one of the senior officers, I think you would feel very, very disappointed and I guess you would feel ‘how seriously are we taking this?’ Or are we just rubber-stamping the definition and not putting the resources into it?’ I hope that’s not the case,” Mr Pughsley said.

Later, the inquiry heard £7m was spent on the creation of a forensics data handling centre which was eventually blocked from being used.

Closure ‘inappropriate and premature’

Mr Pughsley said there were “clearly outstanding lines of enquiry that were not followed”, including a large number of potential witnesses in Afghanistan and data and digital evidence. He added the decision to close Operation Northmore was “inappropriate and premature”.

Operation Northmoor was set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces, including those of children.

No charges were ever brought.

Operation Cestro, which followed, referred three soldiers to the Service Prosecuting Authority but there were no prosecutions.

Law firm Leigh Day, representing the bereaved families at the inquiry, said its clients have always maintained Operation Northmoor was deeply flawed.

“Mr Pughsley… has raised potential failings at almost every stage of the investigation,” said Tessa Gregory, partner at Leigh Day.

“Perhaps most concerningly, he considers that the investigation was closed prematurely and inappropriately with major lines of enquiry still outstanding.

“Plainly the inquiry now needs to take further evidence from those who were involved with both running and overseeing Operation Northmoor to find out how this complex, multi-homicide military police investigation went so badly wrong.”

The inquiry continues.

UK

Girl, 10, and father, who died in caravan park fire in Lincolnshire named

Published

7 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Girl, 10, and father, who died in caravan park fire in Lincolnshire named

Two people who died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness have been named by police.

Lincolnshire Police said 48-year-old Lee Baker and his 10-year-old daughter Esme Baker, both from the Nottingham area, were killed in the blaze.

However, formal identification is still yet to take place and “could take some time”, the force said.

Emergency services were alerted to a fire at Golden Beach Holiday Park, in the village of Ingoldmells, at 3.53am on Saturday.

In a statement issued through police, a member of the Baker family said: “Lee and Esme were excited to be spending the first weekend of the holidays together.

“We are all utterly devastated at what’s happened.

“This loss is incomprehensible at the moment, and we ask for people to give us space to process this utterly heartbreaking loss.”

A GoFundMe page set up for the victims’ family described the father and daughter as “two peas in a pod” who were “both happy-go-lucky people who loved life”. It has so far raised more than £3,000.

The police force, together with Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, are continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze.

Detective Inspector Lee Nixon said: “We believe we might be close to arriving at a working hypothesis.

“We are working hard to validate the facts available to us to be able to provide answers for the family and loved ones of those who were very tragically taken by this fire.

“Yet the evident intensity of the fire has made this task incredibly challenging.”

Dan Moss, from Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, said: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family at this time.

“Our Fire Investigation Team is working with colleagues from Lincolnshire Police, and a full investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

“Once investigations are complete, local fire crews and our community fire safety team will be on hand to talk to people in the area and address any fire safety concerns they may have, at what will be an upsetting time.”

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Man arrested over wildfire that triggered ‘major incident’ in Northern Ireland

Published

8 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Man arrested over wildfire that triggered 'major incident' in Northern Ireland

A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.

More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.

It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.

“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.

“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.

Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.

On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.

Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”

Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.

In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.

Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.

Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.

The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.

UK

Man shot dead in Stanley, County Durham

Published

8 hours ago

April 6, 2025

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Police are investigating after a man was shot dead in County Durham.

Officers were called to an address in Elm Street, Stanley, at about 5.20pm on Saturday after reports of a “disturbance”, Durham Constabulary said.

A man in his 50s was found to have been shot and despite the efforts of paramedics he was pronounced dead at the scene.

His family have been told and are being supported by specially trained officers.

Specialist crime scene investigators are at the scene, and officers are carrying out house-to-house enquiries.

A cordon is in place and is expected to stay there for some time.

Detective Superintendent Neil Fuller said: “This is a truly shocking incident in which a man has been shot and has sadly died.”

He added: “Residents may see an increased police presence in the area. I would like to thank them for their support while we carry out this investigation.

“Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this time.”

Durham Constabulary has urged anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage or CCTV to contact the force.