Officials accused of war crimes cover-up

The government and Army have been accused of covering up the killing of children in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Leaked documents allegedly contain evidence implicating British troops in killing children and the torture of civilians.

A BBC/Sunday Times investigation said it had obtained new evidence from the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (Ihat) that investigated alleged war crimes by British soldiers in Iraq, and Operation Northmoor, which investigated alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

The year-long investigation claims to

“The claims have been passed to the service police”

have found evidence of murders by an SAS soldier, as well as deaths in custody, beatings, torture and sexual abuse of detainees by members of the Black Watch.

A senior SAS commander was referred to prosecutors for attempting to pervert the course of justice, the investigation claims.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: “Allegations that the MoD interfered with investigations or prosecution decisions relating to the conduct of UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are untrue.”

The MoD also said service police undertook extensive investigations into allegations about the conduct of UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) decided not to prosecute any of the cases referred to it. The spokesman said: “Sunday Times claims have been passed to the service police and the SPA.

● Panorama: War Crimes Scandal Exposed will air on BBC One today at 9pm.