UK minister threatened with jail over Afghanistan probe
The Peninsula
London: A UK government minister is on a collision course with the law over his refusal to reveal the sources of allegations that British special forc...
London: A UK government minister is on a collision course with the law over his refusal to reveal the sources of allegations that British special forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Johnny Mercer, Britain's minister for veterans, has said "multiple officers" told him about alleged murders and a subsequent cover-up during the Afghan conflict.
He has refused to divulge their identities to a public inquiry examining whether a unit executed males of "fighting age" who posed no threat in the war-torn country between 2010 and 2013.
The Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan published a statement on Tuesday saying it had ordered Mercer, 42, to hand over the names next week or face a potential prison sentence.
It revealed that it had issued the MP with a Section 21 notice under Britain's Inquiries Act 2005 on March 13.
The published order compels Mercer to provide a witness statement containing the names of the whistleblowers by 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Friday April 5.