Johnny Mercer Refuses to Name Sources of ‘Serious Allegations’ About SAS in Afghanistan

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer has refused to give an independent inquiry the names of serving officers who made “serious allegations” to him about the conduct of special forces in Afghanistan. The inquiry, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, is investigating allegations UKSF1, a unit of British special forces, executed Afghan men—sometimes unarmed and presenting no threat—between 2010 and 2013. Mr. Mercer—who became a Conservative MP in 2015 after leaving the British Army the previous year—said several serving officers came to see him and made “serious allegations” after he began a campaign against lawyers who were bringing what he believed was “vexatious litigation” against the armed forces and veterans....