MPs should be able to monitor Britain’s elite special forces, a charity is demanding.
Action On Armed Violence spoke after shocking claims on last night’s BBC Panorama that SAS teams went on killing sprees in Afghanistan.
UK special forces, which include the Special Boat Service and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, have been deployed across the globe with SAS secret missions in at least 19 countries since 2011.
But while MI6, MI5 and GCHQ answer to the Intelligence and Security Committee, special forces are accountable only to the Defence Secretary and Prime Minister.
AOAV said: “Reported missions in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, the Strait of Hormuz and Libya demonstrate British soldiers are regularly sent to conflicts without any parliamentary approval around UK involvement.
“In August 2013 MPs rejected a proposal for military action in Syria.
“However, three days before this vote UKSF and MI6 were reported to be hunting Syrian missiles that might be used against RAF jets.”
Panorama claims it has evidence of 54 “suspicious killings” carried out by one SAS unit in Afghanistan.
But the Ministry of Defence insisted the BBC had jumped “to unjustified conclusions from allegations already fully investigated.”
It said two Service Police probes had found insufficient evidence to prosecute, adding “insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect and puts our brave Armed Forces personnel at risk.”
However a former British intelligence officer told the Mirror: “The Ministry of Defence needs outside oversight on special forces deployments, as do the intelligence agencies.
“The ISC helps keep watch on operations that for obvious reasons cannot be disclosed.”
