November 17, 2019 "Information Clearing House" -   The government and army have been accused of covering up torture, sexual abuse and child killings by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A year-long investigation by BBC Panorama​ and The Sunday Times is claimed to have uncovered evidence of murder by an SAS soldier, as well as deaths in custody, beatings, torture and sexual abuse of detainees by members of Scottish regiment the Black Watch.

A senior SAS commander was also referred to prosecutors for attempting to pervert the course of justice, according to leaked documents that had been kept secret by the government.

The investigation exposed new evidence from inside the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), which investigated alleged war crimes committed by British soldiers in Iraq, and Operation Northmoor, which looked into war crimes in Afghanistan.

The government closed both inquiries in 2017 after Phil Shiner, a solicitor who had taken more than 1,000 cases to IHAT, was struck off from practising law amid allegations he had paid people in Iraq to find clients.

However, some former investigators said Mr Shiner’s actions were used as an excuse to shut down the inquiries.

No case investigated by IHAT or Operation Northmoor has led to a prosecution.

An IHAT detective told Panorama: “The Ministry of Defence had no intention of prosecuting any soldier of whatever rank he was unless it was absolutely necessary, and they couldn’t wriggle their way out of it.”