Policy change stipulates ‘no patchy or uneven growth’ and allows length of up to 25.5mm After more than a century of having their clean-shaven chins inspected, soldiers and officers in the British army will be allowed to grow beards. The change in policy is not a chance for a hirsute free-for-all, however, as facial hair will be strictly monitored for length and grooming ..read more

Survey finds many ex-military personnel fear being misunderstood and are reluctant to seek professional help More than half of England’s army veterans have experienced mental or physical health issues since returning to civilian life, and some are reluctant to share their experiences, a survey has revealed. The survey of 4,910 veterans, commissioned jointly by the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), found that 55% have experienced a health issue potentially related to their service since leaving the armed forces. Over 80% of respondents said their condition ..read more

The probe into 80 alleged SAS killings heard evidence from Johnny Mercer and highlighted the urgent need for oversight The Afghanistan inquiry is getting into gear at the Royal Courts of Justice. Led by the judge Charles Haddon-Cave, this public inquiry was convened to investigate about 80 killings allegedly committed by the SAS in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. Proceedings took a dramatic turn last month when the minister for veterans’ affairs, Johnny Mercer, gave evidence. It was astonishing to watch. Mercer stated that he had heard from “trusted sources” shocking accounts of serial murd ..read more

Victims’ families say Jon Boutcher’s report into British spy proves state and IRA were ‘co-conspirators’ in murder The police chief who led the inquiry into a murderous British spy in the IRA known as Stakeknife has condemned MI5 for stalling his investigation, as his report was hailed by victims’ families as proof that the British state and the IRA had been “co-conspirators” in murder. Jon Boutcher criticised attempts “to undermine me and the investigation” and spoke of a delay strategy deployed by the secret services as he revealed that agent Stakeknife had probably killed more people than h ..read more

Operation Kenova reports on mistreatment of bereaved families and a ‘maverick culture’ where agent handling was considered a ‘dark art’ More lives lost than saved in Troubles due to British spy, report finds Operation Kenova, the seven-year investigation by senior police officer Jon Boutcher, focused on Stakeknife, the army’s prized spy within the IRA’s so-called “nutting squad”. It examined 101 associated murders and abductions linked to this unit, which was responsible for interrogating and torturing people suspected of passing information to the security forces during the conflict. These ..read more

Security forces and government still refuse to clarify allegations that Freddie Scappaticci was British spy at the heart of the IRA It is both darkly telling and extraordinarily dispiriting that even now, after a £40m investigation, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher cannot formally say in his interim report that Stakeknife, the British spy at the heart of the IRA, was Freddie Scappaticci, despite the fact that he died last year in England, aged 77. “The security forces and the government have steadfastly refused to confirm or deny the allegations that Mr Scappaticci was an agent or that he was Stak ..read more

Stakeknife report finds army’s top agent’s links to murder and torture and calls for government and IRA to apologise More lives were lost than saved because of the activities of a man alleged to have been the highest-ranking British intelligence agent in the IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles, according to a seven-year investigation into his activities. The Kenova report published on Friday finds that the agent Stakeknife saved “between high single figures and low double figures” of lives but “nowhere near hundreds [as] sometimes claimed ..read more

After years of being dismissed when reporting high levels of sexual violence in the UK armed forces, women’s voices are set to be heard Jennifer joined the Royal Navy at the age of 29. She became an aircraft engineer, winning awards. Two years after signing up, in 2006, she was raped and she was raped again in 2011. She didn’t report either attack, she says, because she didn’t want to risk ­losing her career. In 2014, she was sexually assaulted by her superior officer and, this time, decided to report the offence. “I tried to make light of it, and move on again… but it wasn’t working ..read more

Announcement signals widely expected winding down of one of most contentious cases of the Northern Ireland Troubles A seven-year police investigation into murders linked to the British army’s top agent inside the Provisional IRA has ended with no prosecutions. The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland said the final files reviewed by Operation Kenova yielded insufficient evidence to prosecute seven alleged IRA members and five former soldiers who worked with the army’s Force Research Unit. Three of the soldiers had been agent handlers and the other two were more senior ..read more

Joint statement says 18 sites across eight locations were targeted, including missile storage facilities The US and UK carried out strikes against 18 Houthi targets including underground weapons and missile storage facilities in Yemen on Saturday in the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked group that continues to attack shipping in the region. The strikes were against Houthi targets across eight locations and also included air defence systems, radars, and a helicopter, officials said ..read more