Senior United Kingdom special forces leaders covered up potential war crimes in Afghanistan, a former senior officer has told a public inquiry.

The former high-ranking officer alleged that two former directors of Britain’s special forces failed to act on claims that soldiers unlawfully killed civilians in Afghanistan while operating there more than 10 years ago, according to evidence released on Monday.

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The whistleblower’s testimony alleged that commanders at the highest levels knew about suspected executions as early as 2011, but chose to bury the claims rather than report them to military police.

The evidence suggests the inaction allowed the killings to continue for at least two more years, raising questions about accountability within one of the world’s best training and lethal military units.

The officer, identified only as N1466 to protect his true identity, was among the most senior figures in UK special forces.

He told the inquiry he handed over what he described as “explosive” evidence pointing to criminal conduct by Special Air Service (SAS) troops operating in the country.

N1466 said he first grew concerned in early 2011 after reviewing reports from Afghanistan that showed an alarming pattern.

During one raid, nine Afghan men were killed, but only three weapons were recovered. The officer also heard that soldiers had been boasting during training about killing all fighting-age males during operations, irrespective of what threat they posed.

The whistleblower said he passed his findings to the director of special forces, making clear there was strong potential for criminal behaviour.

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But instead of alerting investigators, the director ordered an internal review of tactics that N1466 dismissed as “a little fake exercise” designed to give the appearance of action while suppressing the truth.

When a second director took charge in 2012, the lethal pattern of behaviour wasn’t arrested.

That same year, two young parents were shot dead in their bed during a night raid in Nimruz province. Their infant sons, sleeping beside them, were also shot and seriously wounded. The incident was not reported to police.

N1466 said he eventually went to military police himself in 2015, but expressed deep regret at not acting sooner.

“Those people who died unnecessarily from that point onwards, there were two toddlers shot in their bed next to their parents, all that would not necessarily have come to pass” if the allegations had been properly handled, he said.

The investigation is examining whether around 80 Afghan civilians were unlawfully killed by British forces between 2010 and 2013.

It was launched in 2023 after a BBC documentary revealed that one SAS squadron had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances during just six months.

Johnny Mercer, the UK’s former veterans minister, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that the process through which this information was coming to light “has to be done fairly”.

“We’re not going to get there by selectively releasing bits of commentary that fit a certain narrative,” Mercer said.

Despite previous military police investigations, no charges have ever been brought. The inquiry continues.