AOAV analysis finds a stark ideological divide in British media coverage of the Afghanistan Inquiry, with right-wing outlets far more likely to portray scrutiny of alleged SAS killings as a witch hunt, lawfare or a threat to national security.

A leaked Ministry of Defence review has exposed serious failings in the military’s new serious-crime command, reinforcing AOAV’s longstanding concerns that Britain’s armed forces still struggle to investigate abuse, protect victims and deliver credible accountability.

Newly published evidence presented to the Afghanistan Inquiry contains allegations from multiple witnesses of prisoner abuse, intimidation and a culture of exceptionalism within UK Special Forces, although the Inquiry has yet to reach any findings.

N1788 told the Afghanistan Inquiry that Afghan partner forces became increasingly reluctant to work with a British special forces unit in 2011 amid concerns over deadly night raids and mounting political pressure from President Hamid Karzai.

A former UK Special Forces chief told the Afghanistan Inquiry he directly challenged a commander after becoming aware of allegations that troops under his command may have been deliberately killing people during operations in Afghanistan.

A former Special Forces headquarters chief told the Afghanistan Inquiry that increasing Afghan fatalities and concerns over raid tactics led commanders to order a review in 2011.

Britain and America are dismantling the systems meant to track and limit civilian deaths in war, signalling a troubling retreat from military accountability and civilian protection.

A newly released Ministry of Defence review has revealed that the UK military lacks a formal system for tracking civilian harm caused by its operations, despite years of warnings from rights groups and conflict monitors. The findings echo longstanding concerns raised by AOAV and others over the opacity of British military casualty assessments and the absence of transparent accountability mechanisms.

A senior policing review into the British military police investigation of alleged unlawful killings by UK special forces in Afghanistan found that delays, weak leadership and inadequate resourcing significantly undermined the inquiry into the claims.

Drawing on family testimony, Red Cross records and later legal correspondence, this article examines a cluster of largely uninvestigated detention and injury claims from Basra during Britain’s occupation of southern Iraq, illustrating both the human cost of the war and the enduring institutional opacity that has left Iraqi families without clear answers, accountability or redress.

The Royal Navy says its appointment of The Sunday Times journalist Harry Yorke as Naval Assistant under a new “ZigZag” entry scheme reflects a drive to import civilian expertise, but the decision has raised questions about transparency and optics given Sir Gwyn Jenkins’ leadership amid an ongoing inquiry into alleged Special Forces killings in Afghanistan.

An eight-year-old Iraqi girl was killed by a British soldier’s gunfire in Basra in 2003, a death acknowledged at the time through visits, payments and correspondence but never formally investigated, prosecuted or compensated by the UK state.