More than three years into an inquiry into alleged SAS executions in Afghanistan, the MoD called the discovery of 97 million documents a “regrettable failure.” It says thousands may be relevant, but the inquiry has not yet received any of the new material.
MoD lawyer Steven Gray KC said the failure was one of communication, not application, and that the ministry was searching records across multiple IT systems and classifications. The new material includes images that appear to have been taken during operations under investigation, although the MoD says much of it is outside the inquiry’s terms of reference. The ministry says it is taking steps to prevent similar disclosures.
At Friday’s hearing, chair Lord Justice Haddon-Cave called the disclosure “troubling” and said the MoD had informed his team in a “somewhat casual way”; lawyers for bereaved families called it “staggering.” Haddon-Cave intends to question the ministry again next month. The inquiry, established in 2022 to examine alleged executions during SAS night raids from 2010 to 2013, has published no findings. He set 30 April 2027 as the deadline for hearing all evidence and wants assurances the new files will not cause further delay.
