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Allegations of SAS War Crimes: Top Ex-Special Forces Officer Claims Evidence Was Suppressed
London, UK - December 1, 2025 – Damning testimony has emerged at the Independent Inquiry into allegations of UK Special Forces misconduct in Afghanistan, with a former high-ranking officer alleging a deliberate suppression of evidence pointing to potential war crimes committed by the SAS. The officer, identified only as N1466 to protect his identity, claims two successive Directors Special Forces failed to act on “explosive” evidence of “criminal behavior” and actively worked to conceal the allegations from the Royal Military Police (RMP).
This revelation marks a notable escalation in the ongoing inquiry, as N1466 is the most senior former special forces officer to date to publicly accuse leadership of obstructing investigations into alleged unlawful killings.
Key Allegations: A Pattern of Concealment
According to summaries of closed-door hearings, N1466 first raised concerns in February 2011. He reported observing a disturbing pattern in SAS operational reports from Afghanistan: a disproportionately high number of Afghan deaths relative to the weapons recovered, suggesting possibly unlawful use of force. Specifically, he cited a single night raid in which nine Afghan men were killed, but only three weapons were accounted for.
“I became concerned that something was fundamentally wrong,” N1466 testified. He stated he instantly passed this evidence to the then-Director Special Forces, believing it warranted immediate investigation.
However, the inquiry heard that no action was taken. N1466 further alleges that when a new director Special Forces took over in 2012, the issue was already known to leadership. He claims the subsequent director “clearly knew there was a problem in Afghanistan” but similarly failed to report the concerns to the RMP – a direct violation of British military law, which mandates reporting any suspected serious criminal offences.
“It was not just one director that has known about this,” N1466 stated, emphasizing a systemic effort to suppress the allegations within the UK Special Forces command structure. He described a culture of actively “suppressing” the troubling reports.
The Inquiry and Previous Allegations
The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan was launched following a 2022 BBC Panorama investigation that detailed allegations of unlawful killings by the SAS.The Panorama report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62083196?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D revealed that 54 detainees and unarmed men were allegedly killed by the SAS during a single six-month tour of duty. The report also raised questions about the actions of General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the Director Special forces in 2012, regarding the reporting of potential war crimes.
Both General Carleton-Smith and his predecessor, Lieutenant General Jonathan page, were initially named in the inquiry proceedings concerning allegations of failing to report the claims to the R
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