Charlie Alford

Canary vindicated in new report on SAS ‘war crime’ press coverage

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:20 August 2026
Post last modified:20 August 2026

The UK media has consistently mis-framed SAS war crimes allegations while marginalising the voices of alleged victims. That’s according to a new report by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) which delves into how the press has responded to the ongoing scandal. The report looks at a wide range of media coverage — with the Canary getting a positive mention for our work. The study, titled ‘Witch hunts or war crimes? How the British media talks about allegations of SAS killings of civilians in Afghanistan‘, was published on 18 August. The Haddon-Cave inquiry into allegations of extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan at the…

SAS troops dropped prisoners from forklift ‘for fun’, inquiry hears

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:15 July 2026
Post last modified:16 July 2026

SAS troops currently under investigation for war crimes dropped prisoners from a forklift “for fun”, an inquiry has heard. And one soldier who served with them was allegedly called a “Taliban-loving apologist” for raising concerns about the elite unit’s behaviour. The inquiry into allegations that the SAS extrajudicially murdered Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2023 occupation heard from two whistleblowers on 14 July: Monica Grenfell, a former journalist, and Christopher Green, who was part of the Army Reserve, contacted the Afghanistan Inquiry to give evidence after the chairman issued a request for information. According to Sky News: Both witnesses spoke behind…

SAS drove prisoners off forklifts ‘for fun’, Afghanistan inquiry told

Post author:PHIL MILLER
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Special forces thwarted the ‘normal rules’ and were disconnected from rest of British army, witnesses said Damning evidence of the culture of Britain’s special forces, from their training camps in Herefordshire to the battlefields of Afghanistan, was released on Tuesday. It was disclosed by the judge-led inquiry set up in the wake of detailed reports of unarmed civilians executed in cold blood in night raids by SAS soldiers. A special forces soldier said prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq were put on the prongs of forklift trucks which were then raised and driven so fast that they fell off. “It was something…

SAS didn’t refer Afghanistan atrocity allegations to police in case it upset soldiers

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:30 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

Commanders of the UK military’s most elite special forces didn’t refer war crimes allegations to police, an inquiry has heard. The reasons they decided not to may astound our readers: an anonymous senior officer said that there were fears doing so might upset SAS troops. The inquiry has been going on for several years. Current and former Special Air Service (SAS) personnel have been granted anonymity to give evidence. The inquiry concerns allegations that innocent Afghan civilians were murdered in 2011. Some allegations suggest detainees were handcuffed before being executed. And that weapons seized elsewhere were placed on their bodies to…