New Royal Navy chief under renewed scrutiny over Afghanistan war crimes evidence
LONDON: The man chosen as the new head of the UK's Royal Navy was previously accused of failing to report evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by British forces in Afghanistan.
Gen. Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who was appointed on Thursday, also faced allegations this week that he oversaw the rejection of hundreds of resettlement applications from former Afghan special forces members who served alongside British troops against the Taliban, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Jenkins replaces Adm. Ben Key, who stepped down last week over allegations of misconduct.
The new navy chief previously led UK Special Forces in Afghanistan during the war against the Taliban. That conflict is under renewed scrutiny in Britain following recent fresh allegations of war crimes involving members of Britain's elite Special Air Service and Special Boat Service.
In 2023, it emerged that Jenkins had been warned in writing in 2011 that SAS troops had claimed to have executed handcuffed detainees in Afghanistan. Rather than refer this evidence to the Royal Military Police, the BBC reported at the time, Jenkins placed the documents in a safe. However, The Telegraph newspaper reported that Jenkins did pass the evidence up the chain of command at the time.
This week, an investigation by the BBC current affairs program 'Panorama' revealed that Jenkins personally appointed an officer under his command to assess the Afghan resettlement applications. Thousands of former elite Afghan soldiers were rejected, despite credible evidence of their service alongside British counterparts.
The UK's Ministry of Defence said it was 'not appropriate … to comment on allegations which may be within the scope of the statutory inquiry,' referring to a public inquiry underway in the UK to investigate the war crimes allegations.
There was 'no evidence' that Afghan resettlement applications were rejected to prevent the former soldiers from giving evidence to the war crimes inquiry, it added.
Defence Secretary John Healey on Thursday described Jenkins as a 'proven leader with a distinguished career in both the military and at the core of government.'
He added: 'I know he will deliver in this pivotal role, making Britain secure at home and strong abroad.'
Sarah Atherton, a former Tory MP who sat on the Defence Select Committee, told The Telegraph: 'Military personnel, especially senior leaders, are held to high ethical and behavior standards.
'If somebody is facing an allegation … I know it's alleged, but it's just very strange to appoint someone who is in this position, given the circumstances. That is bizarre.'
Jenkins said after his appointment that he wanted to 'accelerate' the Royal Navy's return to a 'war fighting force that is ready for conflict.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Britain to cut companies' energy bills in new industrial strategy
LONDON: Britain will aim to cut the electricity bills of thousands of companies under a new industrial strategy to be published on Monday, heeding calls from business to lower high energy costs that they say have damaged competitiveness and hindered growth. Under an industrial strategy for the decade 2025-2035, the government plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive manufacturers by up to 25 percent from 2027, a move it said could benefit more than 7,000 businesses. The government has made boosting Britain's anaemic growth a key priority. But lawmakers and business leaders had highlighted the sky-high energy costs many companies face as a hindrance to that aim, with industry body Make UK saying government should scrap climate levies imposed on firms. Britain has been under pressure to do more to support its key industries and bolster competitiveness as the United States and the European Union also seek to do likewise, in a trade landscape upended by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Alongside the strategy, five sectoral plans for areas such as advanced manufacturing, creative industries and clean energy are also set to be published. The Industrial Strategy focuses on eight previously identified sectors of strength for Britain, which also include defense and financial services. The government said it would exempt energy-intensive manufacturers from levies like the Renewables Obligation to boost their international competitiveness. 'Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced – this government has listened,' Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement. The government said the energy measures would be funded through reforms to the energy system, without raising household bills or taxes. The scope and eligibility for the scheme will be finalized after a consultation. Make UK said the industrial strategy was a 'giant and much needed step forward' that also tackled a skills shortage in Britain's workforce and access to capital. The Confederation of British Industry said it was an 'unambiguous, positive signal' that would provide a 'bedrock for growth' The industrial strategy, Britain's first in eight years, will expand the state-owned British Business Bank's capacity to channel investment into smaller companies, and provide an extra 1.2 billion pounds ($1.61 billion) a year on skills by 2028-29. The government added it would cut regulatory burdens on businesses, spend more on research and development and speed up planning processes.
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Arab News
Conflict provides no honor or glory, just remorse
Tens of thousands of civilians are being killed because they were born in the wrong place and simply have the 'wrong' passport. Few people would choose to live in a state of war, or in a place where they are denied freedoms other countries provide. That is not to say that people do not want to be from the countries they live in, but they want their children to be educated and they want their families to be fed, safe and sheltered. According to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, 'an estimated over 940,000 people were killed by direct post-9/11 war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan between 2001-2023. Of these, more than 432,000 were civilians.' Since this report was released in 2023, there have been at least two major conflicts in Sudan and Gaza, in which tens of thousands more civilians have been killed, bringing that total to more than 500,000 — there are cities with smaller populations than that. Who knows what the situation between Iran and Israel will bring? Civilians overall do not appear to choose to go to war — some support it, others do not. But it is those in government, the people in charge, that make the decision to go to fight. None of us chose to be born where we were — that is up to nature. If we are lucky, nature puts us in a country that feels like home and provides peace and security. But around the world, there are many places where people are not so fortunate. They may love their nationality, but do so in the face of oppressive dictatorships or neighbors determined to shift the boundaries. On more than one occasion, I have heard Westerners ask why people living under oppressive regimes appear to simply sit back and take it. It is easy to ask such questions when you live in a house with clean running water, a door that locks and a reliable power source; where you can speak freely and generally live without fear of retribution. These people asking for such courage are often the same people who get angry when their city's streets are blocked by a peaceful demonstration, where protesters are not confronted with a volley of live bullets. It would be reasonable to draw the conclusion that children who grow up in war zones, or under the rule of oppressive regimes, are more inclined to take up arms later in life — indeed there is evidence that shows this to be the case. But in 2016, I went to Lebanon to see the work being done to help educate Syrian schoolchildren who had fled their country with their parents after the civil war began. I spoke to several children about what they thought their futures held for them and not one of them said they wanted to take up arms and fight. There was no talk of revenge. They aspired to be doctors, teachers, engineers — the list was endless. Several of the children said they wanted to be able to return to Syria and help rebuild their country. I have not met many people who want to go to war. If we are lucky, nature puts us in a country that feels like home and provides peace and security. Peter Harrison There was a time when dying for your country was seen as honorable. Most now accept that they can help more when alive, rather than dead. In 2007, I was at the Kajaki hydroelectric plant in Afghanistan working for a regional newspaper from southwest Britain. A worker asked why I was there. I told him I was there as a newspaper journalist working as the defense reporter. He said that one after another, people from the West (generally), be they politicians or media, would arrive, take photos, ask him the same questions about how he felt about the Taliban and the International Security Assistance Force, and then leave. 'But nothing ever changes,' he said. Of course, he was right to say this. Did I seriously believe it would make any difference for me to report on what I saw was happening in his country? Of course not. Like every other, I would write my story, leave and work on the next one. In Afghanistan, there were many 'hearts and minds' projects aimed at creating a community. Market stall areas were created and police stations were painted pink to make them 'more inviting' — usually ideas cultivated by foreign nongovernmental organizations. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the Afghanistan war — military and civilians — and this man's country was eventually handed back to the Taliban, who brought back their highly restrictive form of rule. I have no clue what happened to him. My hope is that, rather than being seen as someone who might have collaborated with Western forces, he was seen as an essential worker at the power plant, providing electricity to all. History is littered with wars largely started as the result of one ideology or another, often under the claim of fighting terror or another force of evil — but most trace back to an ideology that favors the few. We live in a time where narcissism and gaslighting have never seemed more apparent, whether at home, in the workplace or among world leaders. It is not a new phenomenon, but social media and the acceptance of its unsolicited, often unverified, content has become an enabler of these people's toxicity. And while, on a personal level, this can seem miserable and debilitating at first, it is something most people eventually shake off. At a global level, it can prove to be deadly. The millions in Tehran being told to evacuate their homes do not want their neighborhoods to be flattened or their friends and family to be killed — no one wants that. When, in Gaza in 2023, Khaled Nabhan held the lifeless body of his three-year-old granddaughter Reem, he did not speak of revenge or anger, just anguish, the loss of his grandchildren in an Israeli attack and, more importantly, of love.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Arab News
Saudi interior minister meets outgoing UK ambassador in Riyadh
LONDON: Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif met Neil Crompton, the outgoing UK ambassador to Riyadh, in his office on Sunday. Crompton bid farewell to Prince Abdulaziz as his tenure as ambassador ended. Prince Abdulaziz thanked Crompton for his service in the Kingdom and wished him success. Crompton will be succeeded by Stephen Hitchen. In a previous interview with Arab News, Crompton described Saudi Arabia as a 'key, indispensable partner' to the UK. 'We have a shared history, and part of our shared history is recognition that Saudi Arabia is a key diplomatic partner, not just in the Arab world, but in the Islamic world. I think it has a neutral ability to bridge gaps both between east and west, and north and south,' Crompton said.
