Public inquiry into allegations of unlawful killings by British soldiers in Afghanistan to be held partly in secret
A public inquiry into allegations of war crimes by British armed forces in Afghanistan will be held partly in secret, the chair has decided.
Sir Charles Haddon-Cave ruled some evidence, witness identities and testimonies will be limited to closed sessions which the media and public are prohibited from attending.
It comes after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Military Police (RMP), which is accused of failing to investigate the claims, sought sweeping restrictions citing national security and privacy.
The reasons for the chair’s conclusions are laid out in a ruling that itself is private.
In his decision, Lord Justice Haddon-Cave said there are “cogent national security and other reasons why many hearings will need to be held entirely in closed [behind closed doors].” Sky News has asked the inquiry to explain what “other reasons” means.
The chair said he studied the evidence and concluded “for reasons set out in my closed ruling, it amounts to a strong and compelling case that there is a real risk that serious national security damage would be caused” if the MoD’s application for secrecy was not granted.
The order withholds from disclosure information relating to methods, tactics and equipment of UK and foreign partner operatives, as well as details of the identity of MoD and RMP witnesses. It prohibits public access to “risk of information,” though the chair himself seeks clarity on what that means.
The allegations of extrajudicial killings are part of a BBC and The Times investigation which claimed rogue SAS units executed innocent civilians during a campaign of night raids set up to capture Taliban fighters.
Evidence submitted to the inquiry claims as many as 80 people were killed in suspicious circumstances by three out of four SAS squadrons between 2010 and 2013.
The documents outlined the high kill rate of the squadrons, with one soldier shooting 35 people dead in a single six-month tour.
Read more:
Taliban can give evidence to inquiry
Baby among dozens of children killed after UK military action – investigation
Sir Charles Haddon-Cave is leading the inquiry
‘Blanket’ restrictions not in interest of open justice – victims’ families
The victims’ families had argued “blanket” restrictions were not in the interest of open justice. Public hearings may be painful and humiliating, they submitted, but “reputational damage is not a blanket justification for anonymity”.
In an unusual move, the chair has also denied the families access to special advocates whose roles are to examine material heard in closed sessions and to represent the excluded party’s interests.
Tessa Gregory, partner at Leigh Day solicitors, who is acting for the Afghan families, told Sky News: “We are carefully considering this ruling and its implications for the conduct of the inquiry.
“It is of utmost important to our clients, who alleged their relatives were murdered by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan, that the truth is uncovered and that they are able to participate fully in the inquiry.”
Sky News and other media outlets challenge application
Sky News is part of a number of media outlets that submitted challenges to the application for restrictive orders from the MoD and RMP.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The independent statutory inquiry relating to Afghanistan will investigate alleged unlawful activity by British Armed Forces during deliberate detention operations between mid-2010 to mid-2013.
“It is not appropriate for the MoD to comment on cases which are within the scope of the statutory inquiry and it is up to the statutory inquiry team, led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, to determine which allegations are investigated.”
The election of a pro-crypto President in the United States and growing macroeconomic turmoil will continue to drive investors to Bitcoin.
Politics
Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Read more:
Ex-Labour adviser suggests doing to farms ‘what Thatcher did to coal mines’
Farmers ‘could block ports and disrupt food supply’
Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.
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