Inquiries may be set up for a number of reasons, for example to investigate the circumstances of a major disaster, accident or series of events involving serious wrongdoing, damage or loss of life.
Inquiries make recommendations about the lessons to learn from such incidents and investigate allegations of general public concern that require impartial investigation, and for which ordinary civil or criminal proceedings may not be adequate or appropriate.
The Inquiry has developed a series of frequently asked questions below, if you have any more questions please contact the team on enquiries@iia.independent-inquiry.uk
Why has the Inquiry been set up?
The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan is a statutory Inquiry set up to investigate serious allegations against UK Special Forces relating to detention operations in Afghanistan during the period mid-2010 to mid-2013, in particular: • Whether there is credible information that extra judicial killings were carried out by UK Special Forces • Whether the circumstances of any such extra judicial killings were covered up at any stage • Whether the investigations carried out by the Royal Military Police (Op Northmoor and Op Cestro) were properly and effectively conducted • What lessons are to be learned. Inquiries are bound by their Terms of Reference and normally have a government sponsor department. This Inquiry was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Defence and so our sponsoring department is the Ministry of Defence.
Who works on the Inquiry?
The Inquiry is led by the Rt Hon. Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, who as Chair is supported by a legal team, which includes the Counsel to the Inquiry and Solicitor to the Inquiry, a Secretary to the Inquiry and other advisers or specialists.
What is the role of the Chair?
The Chair is responsible for discharging the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference and establishing the structure and procedures which govern the Inquiry, subject to a statutory duty to act fairly. On the conclusion of the Inquiry, the Chair will publish a report that will set out his findings and make recommendations. The Chair cannot make any findings of civil or criminal liability.
How do I follow the Public Hearings and access related documents?
Public hearings will be live streamed, with a time delay, to the Inquiry’s YouTube channel. After each hearing, the transcript and any adduced evidence will be published on the Inquiry’s website. Recordings of previous hearings will be available to watch on YouTube. If you would like to attend a hearing and to stay up to date with future hearings, please contact enquiries@iia.indepdendent-inquiry.uk.
Why are some pieces of the evidence redacted
Documents provided to the Inquiry can contain information that may need to be redacted in accordance with the Inquiry’s Restriction Order protocol, for example for National Security purposes
How do I contact the Inquiry?
You can contact the Inquiry team directly by email on enquiries@iia.independent-inquiry.uk or by using any of the other confidential secure methods explained on the website (Threema encrypted messaging service or using IIA Secure Drop). If you are a member of the press, you can contact the Inquiry’s communications team on pressenquiries@iia.independent-inquiry.uk