UK Afghanistan war crimes inquiry faces delay over 97 million newly identified documents

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has identified 97 million previously undisclosed documents, some of which could be relevant to an inquiry into allegations that British special forces unlawfully killed people in Afghanistan.

The discovery could further delay the inquiry, which was established in 2023 and had initially aimed to produce an interim report within 18 months. Nearly four years later, it has yet to publish findings.

According to a letter from MoD lawyers published on the inquiry’s website, the ministry informed the inquiry this month that the documents were part of a large dataset that it had expected would largely contain material outside the inquiry’s scope.

Inquiry chair Charles Haddon-Cave described the late discovery of potentially relevant material as “troubling and regrettable”.

He warned that unless the material is identified and managed quickly, it could delay the inquiry’s work, which he said is already well advanced.

The inquiry was launched after a BBC investigation reported allegations that members of the elite Special Air Service killed 54 people in Afghanistan in suspicious circumstances during the war more than a decade ago.

Haddon-Cave said a hearing scheduled for Friday would seek assurances from the Ministry of Defence that any relevant material would be identified and disclosed quickly and that a similar situation would not happen again.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment ahead of Friday’s hearing.