Possible prosecutions of UK Special Forces over alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan would be deeply serious. But if credible evidence supports charges, accountability is necessary for victims, soldiers and the rule of law.

The Ministry of Defence has launched a landmark epidemiological study into whether 1.4 million serving personnel and veterans face elevated cancer risks, signalling a significant shift towards greater transparency over the long-term health consequences of military service.

Here AOAV finds that UK media outlets frequently present retired senior military figures as independent defence experts without disclosing their commercial ties to defence, security, intelligence, and technology industries, potentially obscuring conflicts of interest in public debates over war and military spending.

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.

The Ministry of Defence says it cannot readily disclose how many UK troops have been arrested or prosecuted for paying for sex overseas, citing excessive costs to retrieve the data despite a formal ban on the practice.

A series of reports by Action on Armed Violence reveals that Britain’s military justice system is mired in secrecy, impunity, and institutional evasion, with elite units shielded from scrutiny, whistleblowers silenced, and the Ministry of Defence systematically resisting accountability.

Britain’s military justice system is failing victims, protecting the powerful, and in urgent need of independent reform.

Britain’s Armed Forces’ relentless pursuit of military might, despite modest attempts at greening defence, risks exacerbating climate breakdown—the genuine existential threat to national security.

Legal battles over military actions, such as the SAS rulings in Northern Ireland, raise tensions between justice and armed forces’ morale.

Beneath the official rhetoric of “homes for heroes” lies a stark reality: while veterans make up a small fraction of homelessness cases, their struggles highlight broader failures in housing policy, welfare support, and mental health provision.