Drawing on original interviews with over a dozen SAS veterans – the first account of its kind – this report shows the important contribution the unit made to Operation Banner by degrading the IRA’s capacity to kill, restoring order in areas where the IRA had operated with near-impunity, and helping convince the republican movement that armed violence could not succeed.

 

The evidence collected in the report demonstrates that members of the SAS acted under close civilian control and were both subject to, and committed to complying with, rules engagements that were tightly framed to reflect the requirements of the ordinary law. Every use of lethal force by the SAS was investigated at the time, with soldiers held to account in the immediate aftermath of any incident. 

 

Today, those who served in the SAS in Northern Ireland, and other veterans too, face renewed investigation, inquest, and possible prosecution in their old age. This report explains how and why it has come to this and what should now be done about it.