SAS headquarters deleted computer files before military police investigating claims of alleged unlawful killings by British troops in Afghanistan could view them, an inquiry has heard.
The computer server was supposed to be preserved by Special Forces commanders under an agreement with detectives probing allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan.
But instead contractors at UK Special Forces (UKSF) headquarters in London cleared the ITS1 server, the inquiry heard, either in error or in a deliberate bid to destroy evidence.
On the second day of hearings at The Royal Courts of Justice, a judge was read an extract from the policy log of a Royal Military Police (RMP) senior investigator from December 2016.
Lord Justice Haddon-Cave is leading the High Court inquiry into claims Special Forces personnel executed more than 50 unarmed captives. It could lead to the reopening of a criminal investigation and the possibility of murder charges against SAS soldiers.
SAS headquarters deleted computer files before military police investigating claims of alleged unlawful killings by British troops in Afghanistan could view them, an inquiry at The Royal Courts of Justice (pictured) heard
It is alleged by lawyers representing relatives of the deceased that SAS troops went beyond their Rules of Engagement then filed misleading reports to justify their actions. These reports were stored on computers at the headquarters of UKSF.
The RMP senior investigator wrote following the data deletion: ‘It appears UK Special Forces headquarters have deleted material from the preserved ITS1 server.
‘That deletion process has been conducted in such a way that it is irreversible and impossible to determine what has been deleted.
‘This is in direct disobeyance to our demand to preserve the data in its entirety.’
ITS1 contained data relevant to Operation Northmoor, a £10million investigation set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces.
Lawyers acting for the Afghan families claim the RMP investigation was not fit for purpose.
As well as the allegations that ‘numerous’ killings were carried out, the independent inquiry is examining alleged cover-up of illegal activity and inadequate investigations by the RMP.
It emerged yesterday that the RMP’s ‘Gold Commander’, who was responsible for Operation Northmoor, decided to take no action over the deletion of data.
The inquiry heard how this decision was challenged by the RMP’s senior investigating officer who sent the Gold Commander an email requesting confirmation of their intent.
The Gold Commander’s decision meant investigators made no attempt to recover whatever data had been deleted.
Counsel to the inquiry Oliver Glasgow KC said: ‘Accordingly, after nearly 15 months of negotiations to recover the entire data set from the UK special forces server, the SIO was instructed not to take any steps to secure what was promised and not to investigate why it was that (the UK special forces headquarters) had permitted data to be deleted.’
Mr Glasgow said the inquiry’s investigations have suggested that the data transfer was undertaken by contractors and they ‘as part of the process to speed up the transfer, had run a programme that had the effect of permanently deleting already deleted data’.
The computer server was supposed to be preserved by Special Forces commanders under an agreement with detectives probing allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan (Pictured: Badge of the Special Air Service)
Mr Glasgow said: ‘The issue with the ITS1 server engages a number of the matters that this inquiry is required to examine: whether material was deleted, why it was deleted, and what prevented this being independently investigated, are matters that the inquiry will consider with care.
‘Whether this was, as has been suggested in some quarters, part of a conspiracy to cover up wrongdoing by UK Special Forces, and designed to prevent Operation Northmoor from recovering the truth, or whether this was simply the result of a server migration error, will need to be examined and determined in due course.
‘The inquiry will examine the way in which Operation Northmoor was handled, both by those in charge and those who carried out the investigation itself. Ultimately it will determine whether Operation Northmoor was fit for purpose.’
Destruction of evidence was one of a number of issues which compromised the RMP investigations, the inquiry heard.
Paul Greaney KC, counsel for the RMP, said military police had been affected by delays in referrals, limited resources and the physical dangers of conducting criminal inquiries in a war zone.
He said: ‘The RMP accepts that, for a variety of reasons, Operation Northmoor was not conducted with sufficient promptness.
‘The operation faced significant policy, resourcing and investigative difficulties, particularly in its early stages.
‘Often such allegations are made substantially after the event, which renders the development of lines of investigation more difficult.
‘The RMP is the only UK police force that operates with such significant constraints on its initial investigations.’
Operation Northmoor did not lead to any soldiers appearing in court. The RMP recommended charges were brought against five British Special Forces troops but the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) argued the evidence did not reach the required standard.
Representing the Ministry of Defence, Brian Altman KC acknowledged Operation Northmoor should have started sooner after the suspicious shootings and admitted there may be ‘further lessons to learn’ from the inquiry.
He said: ‘The MOD remains committed to assisting the inquiry. To this end it has devoted and continues to devote considerable time, effort and resources to it.’
The inquiry continues.
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