SAS war crimes inquiry: criminal investigation paused until Haddon-Cave finishes

Evidence uncovered by the public inquiry into British special forces in Afghanistan was referred to military police earlier this year, the inquiry acknowledged in High Court proceedings on Monday — the first time it has publicly conceded that its findings could lead to criminal prosecutions.

The referral was made by UK Special Forces to the Defence Serious Crime Unit under the Armed Forces Act, which classifies murder and manslaughter among Schedule 2 serious offences. The evidence concerns a number of detention operations carried out by British personnel between 2010 and 2013.

The DSCU has completed a scoping exercise. The criminal investigation is paused until the public inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, is completed.

That inquiry is examining allegations of unlawful killings by UK special forces between 2010 and 2013, claims of a subsequent cover-up, and whether earlier Royal Military Police investigations were properly conducted. It is investigating allegations that the SAS committed war crimes on operations in that period, including the killing of children and civilians.

A former chief of staff of UK Special Forces told the inquiry that war crimes allegations against the SAS were not referred to military police out of concern an investigation could disrupt operations and negatively affect morale.

Two things are true at once, and they should not be blurred. A referral is not a prosecution. No one has been found guilty, and no charges have been brought. What has changed is that the possibility of criminal prosecution of British special forces personnel is now on the public record, carrying potential jail terms for serious offences.

The institutional question is why concerns about extra-judicial killings and falsified reports were not passed to military police for years. The practical question is whether an investigation paused behind a public inquiry can deliver timely accountability — and what the pause does to evidence and timelines.

What specific incidents and offences the referral covers has not been disclosed. Nor has when the inquiry will conclude, when the DSCU investigation might resume, or what its scoping exercise found. Those answers will determine whether Monday's acknowledgement marks the start of a process or the outer limit of one.

- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm87zxjrry37o - https://inshorts.com/en/amp_news/uk-special-forces-face-criminal-investigation-over--afghanistan-killings--1791366005486 - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-special-forces-afghanistan-deaths-b3062081.html - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y708l015mo - https://aoav.org.uk/2026/uk-special-forces-afghanistan-war-crimes-prosecutions/