BREAKING NEWS Special Forces officer 'blocked bid by Afghan troops to come to UK because they may have witnessed war crimes', court hears
A United Kingdom Special Forces officer rejected the asylum applications of 1,585 Afghan soldiers who may have witnessed war crimes committed by British troops.
According to court documents, the officer rejected every bid by Afghan commandos, known as Triples, despite these troops facing reprisals by the Taliban for fighting with the British.
Some of these Afghan commandos have been killed since the Islamists toppled the Western-supported government in Kabul in August 2021.
Their applications were rejected in 2023 just months before a High Court inquiry into allegations of an SAS shoot to kill policy in Afghanistan began hearing evidence.
The probe is looking into claims the SAS murdered 80 or more Afghan captives on night raids between 2010 and 2013.
The elite British troops were accompanied by the Triples on these secretive missions.
It was feared last night the unnamed Special Forces officer was attempting to ensure the Triples could not give evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Once in Britain, they could have been summoned to the hearings, possibly to reveal they saw UK troops conduct Extra-Judicial Killings.
Last night, the former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, who campaigned for the Triples to come to this country, told the Mail he was 'shocked and appalled' by the evidence.
He said: 'When I raised this as happening to the most senior civil servants in UK government, one in particular from UK Special Forces claimed he was 'offended' that I could make such a suggestion.
'He was either to lying to my face, as a Cabinet minister, which was serious enough, or he was so deeply incompetent he didn't know this was going on.
'I stand ready to assist any legal action against the government for what is increasingly taking on the appearance or criminal negligence that has seen some of these good men killed.
'That they were Afghan lives may not matter United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). I can assure you they matter to me and I will not let this go.'
The documents emerged as part of a judicial review into the UK government's handling of the Triples' applications to come to this country.
Lawyers for the Triples have argued the blanket refusal of applications breached the UK government's Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).
The case was brought by a Triples officer who has seen former colleagues killed and tortured by the Taliban while they waited for protection under the scheme.
In 2010 and 2011, when most of the alleged Extra-Judicial Killings took place, Afghan units expressed their disapproval at SAS tactics by refusing to deploy on night raids.
Under guidelines imposed by the Afghan government, British units were forced to take Afghan units with them. So when they went on strike, these missions could not take place.
In early 2011, the Afghan commandos also lodged a formal complaint alleging the SAS were ' assassinating innocents' on these operations.
The judge-led inquiry into claims of SAS war crimes is due to publish its findings later this year. This could lead to soldiers facing a fresh criminal investigation.
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