An internal email disclosed as part of a subsequent legal case against the Ministry of Defense suggests that Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer raised serious concerns in government in 2019 over the decision to close an investigation into UK special forces. Mr. Mercer wrote to then-defence secretary Ben Wallace to warn against the closure, concerned there were credible war crimes allegations against British forces.
Operation Northmoor had set out in 2014 to investigate a total of 675 allegations of wrongdoing by UK armed forces in Afghanistan. They included allegations that the nation’s elite special forces regiment, the SAS, had murdered dozens of unarmed men, detainees, and civilians during raids. But Operation Northmoor, which was being conducted by the Royal Military Police, was shut down in 2019 with no charges.
In 2022, the government announced a public inquiry into the allegations, after BBC One’s Panorama revealed that one SAS squadron had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances in one six-month tour of Afghanistan. Mercer, a former British army officer, was concerned SAS units may have broken the law during operations, shooting dead unarmed people and planting weapons beside their bodies to justify the killings.
The veterans minister warned colleagues that the government could suffer more reputational damage in the long run if it did not seriously investigate alleged British war crimes and prosecute if necessary. Operation Northmoor has faced criticism in the years since it was closed over an apparent failure to interview key witnesses or secure vital evidence relating to allegations of extra-judicial killings.
An MoD spokesperson told the BBC that it was not appropriate for them to comment on allegations which may fall into the scope of the public inquiry. The public inquiry will begin hearing evidence on Monday. There is no suggestion that Mr Mercer had been a direct witness to or had first-hand knowledge of war crimes
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