The veterans’ minister has been ordered to name the sources who made allegations to him about the conduct of special forces personnel in Afghanistan or face a potential prison sentence.
The chairman of the Afghanistan Inquiry, Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, has given Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer until April 5 to provide a witness statement containing the names of “multiple officers” who told him about allegations of murder and a cover-up.
The inquiry said on Tuesday that Mr. Mercer was served with a Section 21 notice on March 13 that compels the veterans’ minister to divulge the identities of the sources.
Failure to comply without a reasonable excuse would be “a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment and/or a fine,” the chairman said in the order.
Sir Charles said that the High Court could enforce the order through contempt of court proceedings, which “may result in imprisonment.”
The chairman also said that if the minister believes it is unreasonable to hand over the information or if he were unable to comply with the notice, he must make a written submission by April 3. The inquiry has said the names will be “treated in confidence.”
Mercer Refused to Identify Sources
Mr. Mercer, an army veteran, has refused to divulge the identity of his sources, saying at last month’s inquiry, “I’m not prepared to burn them.”In February, Mr. Mercer told the inquiry that several serving army officers—including a friend with whom he had served in Afghanistan—had come to him while he was still a backbench MP and made the allegations.
The sources approached the Plymouth MP after he had begun a campaign against lawyers who he believed were bringing “vexatious litigation” against veterans and the military. He said the sources were concerned Mr. Mercer would be left “out on a limb” if he insisted all the claims were untrue.
Mr. Mercer detailed that a conversation related to the allegations had involved his friend.
Oliver Glasgow, KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked Mr. Mercer, “So your friend warned you that there were serious allegations people who pose no threat had been killed?”
The veterans’ minister replied, “Yes,” confirming the allegations related to UKSF1.
‘Desperate’ to Disprove the Claims
The hearing in February heard that Mr. Mercer had been “desperate” for the allegations not to be true, “because I don’t want to believe them. I don’t want to believe them about that unit. I have friends in that unit, I have friends who were killed on operations, I have friends who were never the same person.”Mr. Mercer said he wanted to “get to the truth,” but maintained that he would not name the officers who shared the allegations.
“We have to try and get to the truth, not a process to say well, we asked everyone and they said no, we have to get to the truth, and that’s different,” Mr. Mercer said.
“You have to be sensitive and you have to understand what it is like, you have to understand the organisation and you have to understand what it’s like to be in combat for months on end with people and then come back to a country that has no interest or idea what it’s like to go through,” added the minister.
Mr. Mercer said: “I respect the inquiry very much. All I’m interested in is the truth. I’m not interested in the process.”
The allegations related to UKSF1 came to light in 2017. Two years later, Mr. Mercer wrote to the then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace after he became concerned the Royal Military Police’s investigation into the allegations, Operation Northmoor, was being closed down.
Operation Northmoor was a £10 million investigation set up in 2014 to examine allegations that special forces had executed Afghans, including children. No charges were brought under Operation Northmoor.
The Afghanistan Inquiry will scrutinise Operation Northmoor and another Royal Military Police investigation, codenamed Operation Cestro.
The inquiry continues.
