MoD’s £6m ‘computer witch-hunt’ targets SAS
MILITARY police were accused of conducting a witch-hunt last night after a multi-million-pound investigation into claims that the SAS covered up war crimes failed to find any evidence.
Detectives launched the probe – which cost £6 million, according to defence sources – after being tipped off that SAS soldiers had doctored official reports and used fake photographs in an attempt to hide civilian deaths in Afghanistan.
Police officers were so determined to prove their case that they used a software programme to secretly monitor Special Forces troops using computers in a bid to catch them out, The Mail on Sunday has been told.
The investigation was launched last year into claims that SAS soldiers had placed pistols and rifles known to be used by the Taliban near dead civilians to make them look like enemy fighters – a practice known as ‘drop weapons’.
Military police believed they could expose this practice by confirming that the serial numbers for these weapons appeared repeatedly in official accounts of SAS battles.
However, not a single instance of drop weapons being used was revealed by the investigation.
Last night, former British commander in Afghanistan Colonel Richard Kemp criticised the Royal Military Police (RMP), saying: ‘It is not their job to waste vast sums of taxpayers’ money to hound our bravest troops on the basis of flimsy allegations. The use of such extraordinary methods to bring down SAS soldiers, seemingly at any cost, smacks of a witch-hunt. Almost every household in Afghanistan has an arsenal of small arms, AK-47s and the like. Why would Special Forces need to bring these weapons with them on their raids?
‘The claim was highly implausible to begin with. The alarming
thing is that such a significant RMP investigation would have needed to be approved at a high level of command. I wonder who wanted to target the SAS?’ Last night, the Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the RMP using a software programme called Key stroke, which intercepts emails, records online activity and logs the use of specific phrases and numerical sequences, such as serial numbers.
The software remains invisible to the user so, if it was being used, SAS troops would have been unaware that their communications were being monitored by military police for the duration of the inquiry.
MoD sources confirmed the probe was dropped because the allegation about the SAS’s use of drop weapons could not be substantiated. A source added that no SAS soldiers were formally interviewed by military police over the use of drop weapons.
A separate investigation into claims by Afghan civilians that they were abused by troops from across the British Army continues. The probe – Operation Northmoor – is l ooking i nto 600 allegations made by 150 individuals. Many of the claims have been brought by Afghans who were detained at a prison facility at Camp Bastion, the biggest UK base in Helmand province, where thousands of British troops were stationed.
An MoD spokesman said: ‘We are not aware of any evidence to support this allegation. As the Defence Secretary announced in February, the Royal Military Police expect to have discounted around 90 per cent of allegations against our armed forces in Afghanistan by this summer.
‘Our armed forces served in Afghanistan with great courage and professionalism. We hold our military to the highest standards. Where allegations are raised, it is right they are investigated.’