Latest news with #SAS
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
ROBERT HARDMAN: The staggering naivety of armchair warrior judge, as reconstruction exposes flaws in controversial SAS legal ruling
Standing on the very spot where it all happened, I am trying to envisage being part of that SAS unit who were lying just behind a low hedge here in February 1992. Three cars and a lorry full of gun-toting IRA terrorists have just screeched to a halt in front of you, the gun barrel of their Russian-built 'Dushka' heavy machine gun still hot from perforating a police station. At which point, according to a senior British judge, there was only one correct and legal course of action. The SAS commanding officer should have stood up and declared: 'Hands up! Put down your weapons. You are all under arrest.' Is it any wonder that British Special Forces veterans now warn that soldiers are more at risk from 'lawfare' than warfare? As I retrace the events of that night in slow motion, in the company of someone who knows that operation as well as anyone, I begin to despair of the creeping judicial over-reach that has now replaced common sense with legalistic wishful thinking. Short of issuing instructions that the correct way to handle a charging elephant is with a pea shooter or that the appropriate response to a great white shark is to poke it in the eye, I cannot think of a more naive idea than the solution by Mr Justice Humphreys, presiding coroner for Northern Ireland, for disarming nine men pointing a heavy machine gun at your face. Yet it is no joke. As a result, the judge has handed down a ruling at Northern Ireland's Coroner's Court which now casts serious doubt on the way in which the British state defends itself from future enemies. All is tranquil at Clonoe chapel these days, the scene little changed except that the original hedge has vanished beneath an extension to the car park. The SAS did indeed come here that night with the aim of capturing the East Tyrone Brigade of the IRA red-handed in the act of preparing an attack, though they were ready for every eventuality. And events did not go to plan. The terrorists suddenly drove in already fully armed, their headlights exposing the soldiers lying on the ground. In that split second, the commanding officer had no idea if they had been spotted. Should he gamble his men's lives by waiting to find out? Moments later, four IRA men lay dead with one injured and four more escaping. The IRA, Sinn Fein and the families of the dead now want this treated as a crime against humanity. So, 33 years on, and with £1.3million of taxpayers' money already spent on a 'legacy inquest', those SAS soldiers must wait to see if they are to be prosecuted for murder. That is because Sir Michael Humphreys (to give him his full title) has sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions having ruled that the SAS were in breach of the Human Rights Act – which did not even exist at the time. Both the Ministry of Defence and the veterans have now demanded a judicial review of the judge's decision. Sinn Fein has described any quibbling with Sir Michael's wisdom as 'disgraceful' and 'a cynical attempt to deny families truth and justice'. You do not have to probe very far to realise it would, in fact, be 'disgraceful' to let his verdict stand. For, as we reveal today, it contains multiple flaws, starting with Sir Michael's assertion that the troops had staged an 'ambush' with no serious intention of making arrests. He bases this on the fact that 'the terminology of "ambush" appears frequently in both RUC and MOD documents'. However, as both soldiers and police from that era tell me, there is a world of difference between military jargon and a legalistic dictionary definition. 'If this had been a proper ambush then it should be in every military textbook under the heading: "How not to stage an ambush",' says one senior veteran of covert operations in Northern Ireland. 'If this really had been an ambush, you would have had at least three machine guns covering what would be called "the killing zone". 'This operation had one machine gun and no "killing zone". If it really had been an SAS ambush, there is no way half of them would get away. They'd all be dead.' Moreover, 'ambush' was a general term for catching all forms of criminality. 'We used to go on border patrols to catch people smuggling cattle and butter,' says a former RUC officer of the period. 'We'd talk about a "butter ambush" or a "cattle ambush". It didn't mean we shot the cattle or opened fire on the butter.' What irks the veterans even more is the judge's flat insistence that the terrorists never fired a single shot at the SAS. The ruling makes much of the fact that the dead IRA men were found with both the 'Dushka' machine gun and their AKM (Kalashnikov) rifles switched to 'safe' mode. 'There is no evidence of any AKM weapon being fired in an exchange of gunfire,' the judge declares. 'I find, as a matter of fact, that no member of the Provisional IRA unit opened fire at the Clonoe chapel car park.' To which the response of many veterans is simply unprintable. First, even if all the guns really were in 'safe' mode, there is no way the soldiers could have known that was the case. Just minutes earlier they heard the whole lot blasting away, both at the local police station and again, en route to the car park, while firing a salute over the house of a dead IRA man. Second, the veterans argue that the weapons could easily have been switched to 'safe' as a matter of routine by the hordes of police, fireman, regular soldiers and other first responders crawling over the site. Sir Michael states: 'I have no doubt that this would have been recorded.' Not so, say the soldiers. In particular, one familiar with the 'Dushka' points out that it is a very complicated process to make it safe, requiring at least five separate movements which would be extremely difficult while clinging on to the back of a lorry careering round sharp corners. Of much greater concern is the miraculous wound suffered by the one SAS casualty that night. As 'Soldier H' jumped up from behind the hedge, he was shot in the face by a bullet which went in cleanly above his upper lip and out through his cheek. In his verdict, Sir Michael states: 'He was struck by a ricocheted bullet fired by one of his colleagues.' Again, SAS veterans shake their heads. 'You only need to see the photo of the wound to realise that this was not a ricochet,' says George Simm, SAS Regimental Sergeant-Major at the time. 'If it was, it must be the first case of a ricochet coming back at 180 degrees but with a nice neat hole.' A bullet rebounding off a hard object he says is usually an irregular shape, 'makes a hell of a mess' and very often does not exit at all. 'Besides, we were using armour-piercing rounds. What would they have been ricocheting from?' Then there is the unanswered question of the guns that got away in the two IRA cars which escaped. One car was abandoned a mile away next to the local Gaelic football stadium. The gang set it ablaze before fleeing. When the fire brigade arrived, they were pushed back by a mob who had suddenly appeared in order to ensure that any evidence was burned to a crisp. However, the report acknowledges two findings. First, all the car seats were folded down except the driver's, as would happen if a machine gunner was operating in the back. Second, a clip from a belt of machine gun ammunition was still in the car. Might this explain why four soldiers reported seeing distinct 'muzzle flashes' from the IRA? The verdict also makes repeated mention of IRA men being shot when they 'posed no threat to anyone'. Once again, the veterans suggest that this is pure guesswork by a judge-turned-tactical commander sitting at a desk three decades after the event. 'You shoot until you perceive there is no further threat and that is when you stop,' says Mr Simm, citing the occasion where he had his gun pointing at a gang who had just shot his commanding officer. As they raised their hands in the air, he did not open fire. 'Just remember this,' he says. 'The SAS arrested more IRA terrorists than they killed in Northern Ireland.' These are just few of the reasons why the SAS veterans feel that the Clonoe inquest is a turning point. Of much greater concern is the judge's overall verdict that the soldiers did not have 'an honest belief' that they needed to shoot. Perhaps more alarming still was his pronouncement that 'the operation was not planned and controlled in such a way as to minimise to the greatest extent possible the need for recourse to lethal force'. If that is now the official benchmark by which Britain's Special Forces are to operate, say the veterans, then we must take the judge at his word. Commanding officers must now make it very clear to new recruits that the most effective way to 'minimise' the possibility of killing our enemies 'to the greatest extent possible', is to avoid going anywhere near them in the first place. And whatever you do, please don't shoot. In short, the SAS set out that night to apprehend a gang assembling a gun. The judge disputes this and also says their lives were not at risk. So let us leave the final word to the IRA. In their official statement the following day, the East Tyrone Brigade 'acknowledged with pride' that four of their men had 'died gallantly in action' during 'an IRA operation'. For the avoidance of doubt, walk a few yards round the corner from the Clonoe chapel car park to the IRA plaque on the wall honouring the dead men. There is no mention of an ambush, of foul play or subterfuge. It states clearly: 'Killed On Active Service.'
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
William and Harry's former private secretary: 'Protect our courageous SAS soldiers or we will lose them forever'
Last summer I went back to Hereford for the funeral of a friend from 30 years ago. He had died climbing, which is what he loved most, apart from his family, his friends and his country. Other than a mesmerising twinkle in the eye and dark good looks, he didn't stand out as anything special on a crowded street. For he was a humble man: Kind, selfless and quietly confident. He had a drive within him to help others, particularly the vulnerable, the picked-upon and those living in fear of their lives. Normal traits, in fact, for a soldier of the Special Air Service. So much has been written about the SAS, so many films made, so many reality-TV botch-ups of our actions and even our selection processes. Apart from one or two post-war accounts written by early veterans, I recognise none of the recent fictional stereotypes in my friend the climber or anyone else I came across in my eight years in the regiment. At the wake after the funeral in Hereford, the regiment's home, I was buttonholed by George Simm, my Squadron Sergeant Major, Regimental Sergeant Major and benevolent scourge. Almost all the old friends I met with him were being persecuted for their brave actions in Northern Ireland many decades ago. They were phlegmatic, facing the storm as they've faced it before, but their courage could not conceal the sense of betrayal they felt. I left angry. It is an abhorrent injustice. Though bound by the SAS strict code of discretion, I can at least use the four unchanging principles of our founder David Stirling to tell you the reality of what I saw during my time. First, the principle that seemed so effortless to everyone but me (though I hope others may have felt the same): 'The unrelenting pursuit of excellence.' I have never known – nor will I again – such consummate professionalism as in the SAS. Within its ranks are some of the finest soldiers in the world, jacks-of-all-trades who have proved they can meet any threat – except perhaps the one they now face from lawfare, the threat from within. Next came 'the highest standards of self-discipline'. Physical and organisational, but especially moral. An oft-quoted line is that we would never transgress morally on operations because to do so would be to lower ourselves to the base level of our enemies, blowing our credibility and decimating our ability to achieve our mission. While this may be true, it is secondary. What guides SAS soldiers is the urge to do right by the innocent folk we have been sent to protect – as in Northern Ireland, where the SAS arrested more terrorists than they ever killed – and to do right in the eyes of our comrades and the British people. That might sound overly idealistic, pompous even, but it is how many of us felt. Some of us in the regiment did not even vote in general elections. This was not idleness and certainly not some petulant statement. It was because we had implicit faith in our system of parliamentary democracy, and in what Britain stood for in the world. To have voted would, in some way, have compromised that. We were there to do the will of the Government – any government – and not take party-political sides. That, of course, was when we believed the Government had our backs. Stirling insisted upon 'a classless but not a rank-less society', based on pure merit and no social preferment. We all did the same selection – officers and men – which meant that we had complete faith in one another. To reap the benefits of an egalitarian structure such as the SAS, as with any other successful human enterprise, still requires leadership and a rank structure. But, as a commander in the regiment, what I learnt very early on was that I was not always the leader. To have had me telling the climber what to do on a cliff-face would have been, literally, sheer lunacy. He was the leader then... and so on. Finally, Stirling recognised that hubris was the surest route to ruin. So, his quartet closes with a call for 'humility and humour'. Recognising that success in the past does not guarantee success for the future is often the most difficult of the principles to obey. But it is perhaps the most critical. The urgency with which SAS soldiers fought the temptation to be complacent and strove to remain ahead of our country's enemies simply astounded me. It still does. While an unforgivable conceit, I am going to add a fifth principle: 'Decency'. Three of my children have SAS god-fathers. They weren't picked for their extraordinary skills – hardly transferable – but because the moral compass of each is welded at true north. Enough said. It seems to me that the British have a decision to make. Either we move to protect our SAS soldiers – as they have protected us – or we do nothing and lose the SAS. In capability and character, this is a strategic asset that no other country has and which – any day now – the British people might sorely need. This is why I wholeheartedly support the Daily Mail's campaign to protect our veterans.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ex-royal aide blasts betrayal of SAS heroes - former Special Forces officer backs Mail's campaign to protect Northern Ireland veterans from legal witch hunts
A former royal aide and SAS officer has backed the Mail's campaign to protect Northern Ireland veterans from legal witch hunts. Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a godfather to Prince George, joined the call for an end to so-called lawfare that dates back to the Troubles. This week, the Mail launched the Stop The SAS Betrayal campaign to protect troops from being hounded by the threat of legal action decades after they served. This newspaper is demanding that ministers reverse their bid to repeal clauses in the Legacy Act that provide protections for Northern Ireland veterans, or produce a proper alternative. At the centre of the campaign is a case involving 12 SAS soldiers whose killing of four IRA terrorists in 1992 has been found 'unlawful' by a coroner. They could face murder charges. Last night, a petition backing the soldiers had gained more than 155,000 signatures. A parliamentary debate on the issue is scheduled for July 14. Mr Lowther-Pinkerton, a former SAS squadron commander and principal private secretary to Princes William and Harry, and latterly the Duchess of Cambridge, said such cases put the regiment's future in jeopardy. He added: 'This is an abhorrent injustice. Though bound by the SAS strict code of discretion, I know from my experience SAS soldiers have proved they can meet any threat – except, perhaps, the one they face from lawfare. 'It seems to me the British have a decision to make. Either they move to protect their SAS soldiers – as they have protected them – or they do nothing and lose the SAS. 'In capability and character, this is a strategic asset no other country has and which – any day now – the British people might sorely need. 'This is why I wholeheartedly support the Daily Mail's campaign to protect our veterans.' Mr Lowther-Pinkerton, who rarely speaks publicly due to his previous royal roles, has joined forces with other SAS commanders and MPs such as Sir David Davis and Mark Francois, as well as former veterans minister Johnny Mercer. The father-of-four was a British Army officer for 20 years, serving in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and Iraq. His first Royal appointment was as an equerry to the Queen Mother from 1984 to 1986. His intervention came as the Prime Minister's veterans' tsar branded plans to amend the Legacy Act 'immoral' and 'two-tier justice'. David Johnstone, the Veterans' Commissioner for Northern Ireland, said up to 70 former soldiers could be forced into the dock as a result. He told The Daily Telegraph: 'It's lopsided, it's two-tier justice, and if the Government thinks that they can reverse this and there not be push-back from veterans, well, I think they're in for a surprise, because veterans are just not going to stand for it. 'The pressure is on that this Government should not make reversals that will put soldiers in the dock for doing their jobs. 'The then-Labour government came to the society in Northern Ireland, and said, 'Look, in order to have peace, you must accept terrorists being let out of jail… royal pardons, effective amnesty for terrorists'. 'Then there was the decommissioning of weapons, which meant that the evidence that could have put terrorists in prison was destroyed. So society was asked to accept all of those things. 'And yet, 27 years on, we have this ongoing vexatious lawfare which is targeting and demonising those who wore the uniform.' The Mail can also reveal that SAS veterans facing a possible criminal probe over their killing of four IRA terrorists in February 1992 are to stage a re-enactment. The reconstruction of events at Clonoe, County Tyrone, is part of a bid by the Ministry of Defence to instigate a judicial review of the verdict at Northern Ireland Coroner's Court and have the ruling overturned. Coroner Mr Justice Humphreys found the soldiers' use of force was excessive, even though the terrorists had a heavy machine gun, a medium machine gun and AK47 assault rifles. Peter Clancy, Kevin Barry O'Donnell and Sean O 'Farrell (pictured left to right) were shot dead by SAS soldiers in 1992. They were all members of the IRA and had used a machine gun mounted on a lorry to shoot up a police station Former SAS Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) George Simm said: 'The reconstruction aims to provide a true account of what happened to balance the judge's version of events. 'The team as a whole are clear in their minds the IRA fired first. Some of the soldiers observed muzzle flashes through their night sights. 'There are also accounts of thumps into the ground alongside where they were hiding. 'Forensics say there were marks on the bushes and branches. And, one of the team got hit in the face. There was no 'subject-matter expert' [expert witness] at the hearing as the judge assumed his version of events was correct. 'He gave the appearance of choosing evidence to suit his narrative, rather than looking at the evidence objectively.' Following the coroner's decision earlier this year, files have been passed to Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions, which could lead to some of the SAS veterans being charged. The Legacy Act was introduced by then veterans minister Mr Mercer in 2023 to stop Troubles veterans being prosecuted decades after the conflict. Labour's manifesto last year included a pledge to repeal it. British soldiers were said to be constantly looking over their shoulders while based in Northern Ireland and that it was an 'extremely dangerous place'. Pictured is a British Paratrooper detaining a youth during riots on Bloody Sunday in 1972 The Act was found to breach the European Convention on Human Rights, which places an investigative duty on the state where its agents may have caused death or injury. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has defended the move, telling the Mail that any government would have to repeal unlawful legislation. He said the Government was 'engaging with veterans and all interested parties over future legislation, and we will ensure there are far better protections in place'. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had lodged an application seeking permission to judicially review the coroner's recent findings and verdict in the Clonoe inquest'. A defence source said: 'We consider that the findings and verdict do not properly reflect the context of the incident nor the challenging circumstances in which members of the Armed Forces served in Northern Ireland. 'The MoD is funding the veterans in question to seek judicial review and providing them with welfare support.'
West Australian
12 hours ago
- General
- West Australian
Son of war hero, Jack Wong Sue, in search of rightful home for WWII prisoner of war ring
For 80 years it lay anonymously among dusty World War II memorabilia belonging to celebrated Australian soldier Jack Wong Sue. Now, an international search is under way to find the rightful home of the silver ring Sue gently slipped off the finger of a dead Allied serviceman in 1945. Sue and his comrades from the Z Special Unit, a precursor to the SAS and Commando regiments, had stumbled upon the cannibalised corpse of the prisoner of war while on patrol in Borneo late in the war. He pocketed the tarnished ring, bringing it home to Perth when Japan surrendered and he was discharged from service. Sue's son Barry is determined to find the family of the ring's owner so he can return it to them. It would be a needle-in-a-haystack mission were it not for two clues — inscriptions on the band and a small piece of dog-eared cloth. The words 'Iraq' and 'Egypt' are engraved on the ring, which Mr Sue believes could refer to theatres of war in which the soldier fought before being captured by the Japanese in South-East Asia. The cloth, which the POW appears to have wrapped around the band to wedge it onto his emaciated finger, could hold DNA. 'This is something I feel I need to do,' Mr Sue told The West Australian this week. 'It is something Dad would have wanted.' Jack Wong Sue was one of seven Australian special forces soldiers who were secreted into Japanese-occupied Borneo by an American submarine in March 1945. Surrounded by enemy troops, the Z Special commandos teamed up with local headhunting tribes to wreak havoc on the 3000 Japanese who were retreating across the island. Acting Sergeant Sue was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery during the guerilla campaign, which often focused on trailing Allied soldiers on the infamous Sandakan death march. The body from which the ring was retrieved was on that notorious jungle track and Mr Sue believes his father referenced the incident in his memoir, Blood On Borneo. 'Spread-eagled, each hand and foot was tied to a stake driven into the ground,' Mr Sue, who died in 2009, wrote. 'The lifeless face stared vacantly into the fading sunlight. He was only young and no older than his beholder. 'The tissue-thin covering of skin was taut all over the bone structure and the emaciated chest accentuated every rib. 'The open flesh of the buttock bore testimony to the cannibalism of his Japanese captors; they had made a crude attempt to take a slice of rump from the body.' The ring was not mentioned in the passage, but conversations with his father left Mr Sue believing the POW described may have been the owner. Historians from the Australian War Memorial who examined the ring this week believe that if the engraving refers to countries the soldier served in then it is unlikely the owner was Australian. Tens of thousands of Diggers were dispatched to Egypt after 1939 but no Australian units fought in Iraq, leading the memorial to believe the owner was British. The Imperial War Museum in London is now set to comb its records to match a soldier with the ring. Initial research shows British tank and artillery regiments served in Iraq and Egypt. The search will focus on who of those soldiers were transferred to the Pacific theatre of war and subsequently taken prisoner.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The 'useful idiots' in the Prime Minister's ranks who blew up the law to prevent the hounding of veterans
A former Conservative minister has described military veterans in the Labour Party as 'useful idiots' after they tore up his law to protect soldiers. Johnny Mercer, the architect of the Legacy Act, took aim at the former troops who have left Northern Ireland veterans exposed. The former Veterans Minister brought in the first legislation to shield service personnel from historical witch hunts. Mr Mercer, who served in Afghanistan, blamed veterans who joined the Labour Party for undoing his work. The current Veterans Minister is Al Carns, a former Royal Marines officer. Action to remove protections for troops has happened on his watch. Yesterday, the Mail launched a campaign to stop the betrayal of British troops hounded by the threat of legal action decades after their service. The newspaper is demanding ministers U-turn on their bid to repeal the Legacy Act or produce a proper alternative. Last night, a petition calling for the protections of Northern Ireland veterans had reached just under 150,000 signatures. There will be a full parliamentary debate on the issue on July 14. It comes as former SAS soldiers face possible murder charges after a judge in Northern Ireland ruled the shooting of four IRA terrorists in 1992 was unlawful. Yesterday, the Mail's campaign received fulsome backing from MPs, including Sir David Davis and Tory defence spokesman Mark Francois. Last night Mr Mercer, who is no longer an MP, said: 'Veterans in the Labour Party should hang their heads in shame. 'They have become modern day useful idiots in a party determined to shout about veteran credentials then roll back all the important advances made by the previous government. 'None more so than legislation to protect our people from vexatious prosecutions in Northern Ireland. I made promises to veterans and I kept them. It took almost ten years. To repeal what we fought so hard for is frankly unconscionable. The hounding of these veterans is fundamentally unjust. So we kept going to produce the Legacy Act. 'I am proud of that and I fully support what the Mail is doing to ensure soldiers are protected.' The Labour manifesto at last year's general election included a pledge to repeal the 'unlawful' act. This followed a ruling by a court in Northern Ireland on clauses in the act providing conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes. The act also introduced a ban on inquests and future civil actions related to the same period. In February 2024, the High Court in Belfast found these were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 2 of the ECHR places an investigative duty on the state where its agents may have been involved in causing death or serious injury. In such circumstances, countries that are signatories to the convention are obliged to conduct an effective and independent investigation. In parliament yesterday Mr Francois said: 'The present Labour government intends to use a Remedial Act to remove key provisions within the Act. 'This will open the endless cycle of investigation and re-investigation, often by coronial inquests. This policy is a disaster for recruitment and retention and we vigorously oppose it. In that context, we warmly welcome the Daily Mail's campaign, launched this morning, to defend our veterans.' Mr Francois, who served as a defence minister in a previous Conservative government also quoted the Mail's editorial which said it was 'profoundly unfair that frail ex-servicemen will continue to live in dread of a knock on the door by the authorities, while IRA murderers sleep easily, with letters of immunity handed to them by Tony Blair'. In the same debate, Sir David said: 'This is not just about Special Forces, it is about all of the armed forces. There are about 20 inquests into actions by government agencies that could be restarted after the end of the legacy legislation. 'If we continue down this path we will betray our past and jeopardise our future. The Mail's campaign has received fulsome backing from MPs, including Sir David Davis and Tory defence spokesman Mark Francois 'This campaign of persecution sends a chilling message to the next generation: serve your country, risk your life and face prosecution in your old age. Why would any young man or woman sign up for that.' The case at the centre of the campaign involved 12 SAS soldiers facing possible murder charges over the 1992 shooting of four IRA terrorists. Police concluded at the time there should be no prosecutions. But earlier this year a coroner ruled their use of force was excessive, despite the terrorists being armed with a heavy machine gun and other weapons. Files have been passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland. A move which could trigger a criminal investigation. Last night, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn, said: 'The Legacy Act has been found by our domestic courts to be unlawful. 'Any incoming government would have to repeal unlawful legislation and it is wrong for anyone to suggest otherwise. 'The Defence Secretary and I are engaging with our veterans community and with all interested parties over future legislation and we will ensure there are far better protections in place. 'We owe it to all who were affected by the Troubles across the United Kingdom to be honest about the unworkability of the Legacy Act and to get this new legislation right.'
