Former British veterans minister jailed for withholding names in Afghanistan war crimes trial – JURIST

Former veterans minister and ex-officer Johnny Mercer faces a prison sentence for refusing to reveal the names of soldiers who allegedly told him about unlawful killings and cover-ups by British special forces during the Afghanistan war, the Afghanistan inquiry said.

In a ruling published on Thursday, Judge Haddon-Cave, chairman of the inquiry, states in his concluding remarks: “(T)The applicant states that he is a protector of whistleblowers. However, he has chosen to disclose publicly that friends have told him of allegations of unlawful killings by (British special forces) in Afghanistan.” Haddon-Cove continued: “Integrity requires moral courage to do the right thing even when it may not be popular.”

Despite the pressure, Mercer is sticking to his decision not to reveal the identities of the officers who confided in him about the alleged killings. The former minister, who lost his Plymouth seat last week, has consistently refused to comply with requests to reveal those names to the Afghanistan Inquiry Committee, chaired by Sir Charles Haddon-Cave.

Mercer first made these allegations in February, emphasizing his commitment to protecting the identities of the officers who contacted him. In March of this year was ordered to present evidence in a public inquiry into allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan under Section 21 of the Notice under the Inquiries Act 2005.

In response, Mercer criticized the investigation’s approach, stating:

“Given my unprecedented support for the inquiry, including naming some of the people who gave me their consent, I find it extraordinary that Mr Haddon-Cave sees fit to repeatedly publicly question my moral courage and integrity. These unjustified and baseless attempts by a Supreme Court judge to destroy my reputation – without any basis whatsoever – cross a line.”

He concludes his letter by saying: “Mr Haddon-Cave must now stop trying to bully me – I have done nothing wrong. I have given my word to subordinates who have spoken to me. I intend to keep it.”

He also accused the courts and the investigation team of misjudging the situation, which had serious consequences for active personnel and veterans. Mercer expressed frustration that he learned of his fate through the press and was not informed privately by the investigation team. The investigation had previously stated that failure to comply with the investigation was “an offence punishable by imprisonment and/or fine”.

In an earlier ruling, Haddon-Cave had warned that failure to comply with the order without reasonable excuse would be considered a criminal offence and punishable by imprisonment or a fine, despite filing an application in April citing his inability or inadequacy to comply.

Stressing the importance of Mercer’s cooperation, the spokeswoman for the Afghanistan Inquiry said: “Mr Mercer is refusing to disclose information that could be important to a public inquiry aimed at establishing the truth about the serious allegations of multiple murders of British special forces.”

She added that the investigation had security measures in place to protect the identities of confidential contacts and that witnesses were protected from prosecution for violating the Official Secrets Act or failing to report misconduct.

The Afghanistan investigation was launched on 15 December 2022, with the independent statutory inquiry launched by the Government to investigate matters relating to the deployment of British special forces to Afghanistan between mid-2010 and mid-2013 under the Inquiries Act 2005, with Afghan families have claimed that British special forces were carrying out a “campaign of murder” against civilians, the investigation said, and senior military officials were trying to prevent proper investigations.

Haddon-Cave has instructed Mercer to announce the names by 4 p.m. on July 25.