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The sudden discovery of 97 million new files by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is “staggering and profoundly worrying”, an inquiry into allegations that UK special forces executed Afghans has heard.
The vast repository of data from a historic MoD system was uncovered in July, with chairman of the inquiry Lord Justice Charles Haddon-Cave informed about the developments in a letter sent in early August.
His team were initially informed that there were 97 million documents that relate to 2010 to 2013, the time period that the inquiry is probing.
Opening a hearing of the inquiry on Friday, at the Royal Courts of Justice, Lord Haddon-Cave said the recent revelation was “troubling and regrettable, and if not rapidly addressed and managed has the capacity to delay the important work of this inquiry”.
The inquiry was launched in 2023 to investigate alleged war crimes committed by soldiers serving in the UK special forces between 2010 and 2013.
The inquiry, which has reportedly cost £58m so far, has published new information in the form of witness statements and documents during this time, but it has yet to publish any findings.
Stephen Gray KC, for the MoD, told Lord Haddon-Cave on Friday that the database of 97 million records was being searched for material relevant to the inquiry and that “the vast majority of this material will likely be wholly irrelevant to this inquiry’s work”.
Recent key word searches for relevant material have resulted in the disclosure of around 1,200 new documents, the MoD said. Mr Gray added that the newly discovered database did not include UK special forces IT systems, which had already been searched separately.
Mr Gray said that the government would be able to assess the additional files “without imperilling the current timetable”.
Lord Haddon-Cave has set a deadline for all evidence related to the allegations of unlawful killings to be heard by 30 April next year.
However Edward Craven KC, representing the Afghan families at the inquiry, said the news was “staggering and profoundly worrying”, adding: “The developments are difficult to comprehend”.
He added: “We simply don’t understand how it could be the case that for three years the MoD has been conducting rule 9 disclosure searches [an inquiry’s request for relevant information] without reference to a repository of almost 100 million documents”.
Mr Craven said that the Afghan families held “a degree of skepticism” about whether the MoD could diligently examine the millions of documents before the impending deadline.
“There may be a tension between the imperative of thoroughness and the imperative of timeliness”, he told the inquiry.
The inquiry has previously heard damning testimony alleging that the UK’s special forces (UKSF) knew soldiers had probably committed war crimes in Afghanistan but failed to act and conducted a “fake exercise” to cover it up.
One of the most senior special forces officers in the British Army told the Afghan war crimes inquiry that he first raised concerns that Afghans were being killed unlawfully and that stories were being invented to disguise the deaths in early 2011.
The senior officer, known only as N1466, said he tried to get the special forces chief to act, but instead, the director conducted a “fake exercise” of a review that did not get to the bottom of what was happening.
He told the independent inquiry in secret evidence sessions: “I will be clear we are talking about war crimes.”
N1466, who was the assistant chief of staff for operations in UKSF headquarters between 2010 and 2011, said he first became concerned about reports of Afghans being killed on operations around February 2011, when the deaths didn’t tally with the number of weapons recovered.
He became further alarmed by reports of Afghans dying in custody after they had apparently tried to make futile attempts to attack their captors, but he said some accounts were “so implausible as to be ridiculous”.
An MoD spokesperson said: “We remain fully committed to supporting the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan and assisting it in getting to the truth and continue to cooperate fully with the inquiry.
“We regret that our engagement with the Inquiry on this issue was not as prompt or consistent as it should have been and are taking steps to ensure timely and constructive communication in the future.
“These records were identified as part of the significant work the department has undertaken to identify, review and disclose material relevant to the Inquiry. As people will understand, given the passage of time, the complexity of legacy systems and the nature of records created during two decades of operations in Afghanistan, this remains a substantial and ongoing task.”
