1 Dec 2025
Richard Norton-Taylor
https://www.declassifieduk.org/sas-shot-toddlers-in-their-beds-afghanistan-inquiry-told/

Lede: Special forces soldier feared the elite regiment would "go down the sewer" unless he blew the whistle

...

The soldier, who was assistant chief of staff for operations in special forces
headquarters, said: "We were there in Afghanistan to bring law and order and
human security and justice. We failed".

Giving evidence in closed sessions of the inquiry about events in Afghanistan
between 2010 and 2013, he added: "Right now and beyond Afghanistan, we are
facing off against despotic autocracies. It seems to me to be obvious we should
not sink to their level".

The senior officer, who worked closely with the most senior SAS commanders,
raised the alarm about a "cancer" of illegal behaviour within a specific SAS
squadron but was constantly rebuffed, transcripts of evidence - released despite
objections by the Ministry of Defence - reveal.