The SAS veterans being ‘hounded' for doing their duty

Telegraph

06-03-2025

The SAS are under attack – not by enemies of the state but by legal processes seemingly determined to put some of the best soldiers Britain has ever produced on trial for carrying out orders sanctioned by the government.
In an unprecedented move, the SAS Association, a charity which supports former and serving elite troops, has urged its members to break cover – and declare their Special Forces backgrounds – in order to lobby MPs about comrades 'hounded for doing their duty' in the likes of Northern Ireland.
They have finally had enough of being put through the grinder by a system which they always assumed would be there to protect them, it seems, and warn that repeated 'witch hunts' are worsening an already severe recruitment crisis.
In a clear indication of the growing dismay, the association shared a template letter for its members to send to parliamentarians. The letter, obtained by The Sun, warns that veterans feel 'badly let down by successive governments.'
The association blames one-sided prosecutions and states: 'UK Special Forces veterans feel they alone face criminal investigation and risk prosecution for doing what they were trained, authorised, and expected to do as part of a successful counterterrorist campaign.'
'It is not lost on those currently serving, or those who may wish to serve, that the ingenuity and courage they display today could see them accused of crimes decades in the future,' it adds.
In particular, the letter focuses on historic operations in Northern Ireland after a coroner ruled last month that SAS troops serving there in 1992 had used excessive force and were unjustified in killing four IRA terrorists who minutes earlier had fired 50 rounds from a Russian heavy machine gun into a Royal Ulster Constabulary police station.
A team of SAS operatives 'ambushed' the terrorists in a car park as they were about to dismantle the weapon. The SAS had claimed that they thought their hidden positions were about to be exposed by the terrorists' vehicle headlights and so they opened fire.
While many might assume that this was a perfectly reasonable response in a perilous situation, the coroner ruled otherwise – much to the delight of the dead terrorists' families.
Worse still, the coroner has sent his finding to the Director of Public Prosecutions who will consider whether criminal charges should be brought against the SAS veterans.
So, more than three decades after the events of that night, when brave, highly trained British soldiers were ordered to confront a group of heavily armed terrorists full of murderous intent, they now face the possibility of being charged with murder. Little wonder that the SAS Association has asked its members to break cover.
Hundreds of SAS veterans are now potentially ensnared in the Troubles legacy investigations which are re-examining the deaths of people killed by both the IRA and members of the armed forces during the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
Additionally, the ongoing Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan has heard accusations against the SAS for carrying out numerous illegal killings, while live investigations into alleged war crimes in Syria could potentially lead to the prosecution of nine special forces personnel.
The understandable sense amongst the SAS fraternity is that they are under siege. In rare public comments made late last year, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, a former SAS commander, warned serving troops felt abandoned. 'For the first time in my experience, the ­serving generation today don't believe their chain of command can guarantee they won't face a lifetime of hounding,' he said, adding the sentiment was 'hardly conducive to morale and military effectiveness.'
George Simm, who joined the SAS in 1975 and served as the unit's Regimental Sergeant Major from 1992 to 1994, winning the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his service, is furious with the status quo.
He and other SAS veterans believe service personnel should be immune from prosecution in relation to any actions taken in line with duties conducted under the laws of armed conflict and Geneva Conventions, as is the case in other allied countries, such as the United States. 'No-one can be immune from investigation – it is part of the job – and we are not asking for that. It is unreasonable. What we demand is fairness and clarity – right now there is neither,' says Simm.
Addressing the issue of lawyers bringing human rights claims against the government for troops' actions, he adds: 'Without clarity of the legal framework these troops will be operating within, the British public should prepare for more instances of ambulance-chasing, human-rights zealots like Phil Shiner assuming their 'international duty' of ensuring that no enemy of this country will die on their watch – under any circumstances.'
Shiner, a former Left-wing lawyer once celebrated by civil rights groups, received a two-year suspended sentence at the end of last year for making false abuse claims against British troops in Iraq. Disbarred and declared bankrupt, Shiner had illegally pocketed millions of pounds in taxpayers' money while pursuing those claims.
The SAS is a highly respected organisation, where personal integrity, professionalism and loyalty to the Crown are just as vital as the ability to carry out covert operations in hostile environments with limited resources and against all odds. Unsurprisingly, gaining entry to this elite force is famously challenging.
Only around 10 per cent of those who step forward – often the Army's top soldiers, who have trained for months to pass the gruelling selection process and have already undergone various forms of pre-selection – successfully make it into the ranks. But now the seemingly endless rounds of inquests, inquiries and court cases are beginning to take their toll, leaving recruitment under more pressure than ever.
Recently, the SAS have taken unprecedented measures to convince serving soldiers to consider joining the elite organisation.
One SAS warrant officer recently gave an interview to Soldier Magazine urging troops to try their hand at special forces selection – a move that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
'It's no surprise that the current situation is having an impact on recruiting,' one SAS veteran says. 'Would you want to join an organisation which trains you to do something no one else can do, which requires you to risk your life in the service of your country, then 10, 20, 30 years later puts you in the dock and attempts to pin a murder charge on you? '
The SAS are usually deployed on covert, intelligence-led operations to either kill or capture Britain's enemies. Often, this will mean that people die. This was the case in Northern Ireland, and equally so in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many SAS veterans, and those still serving, believe that the disconnection between what the SAS are asked to do – kill people in the name of the British Government – and the reality of that process, is at the crux of the current problem.
A former SAS officer tells The Telegraph that politicians like to bathe in the glory of the SAS without really understanding what they do and why.
'What we are seeing now is basically the people who pulled the trigger on covert operations being thrown to the wolves. Why aren't the senior officers, government officials and ministers of state who signed off these operations also in the dock?' the source says.
'They demand sacrifice and ingenuity at the tactical level and then seem surprised when they get that. In Iraq and Afghanistan 'kill or capture' was the actual mission statement, yet everyone seems surprised when people die.'
The officer says there is a 'displacement between decision makers and the delivery end.'
'Leaders that truly take time to understand their decisions to go to war or join coalitions would understand what they are asking people to do. That often means killing people, especially for the special forces, and this was the case in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.
'If you are going to tell people to carry out those operations, then the government must make sure they are properly protected months and years down the road – otherwise you'll end up with no one wanting to do it.'
Among those who have already served their country, says Simm, the sense of betrayal runs deep.
'The anger, frustration, and embitterment they feel at their treatment will need to be addressed if they are to be persuaded to cooperate with future reviews and investigations,' he says. 'Veterans have lost trust.'