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The Queen wanted both William and Harry to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan when war broke out in 2001, before deciding it was too risky to send the future heir to the throne, an ex-Army chief has revealed.

The decision over whether the princesshould take part in the conflict was discussed at a meeting between the late Elizabeth II andGeneral Sir Mike Jackson, then head of the British Army.

In an upcoming ITVX documentary called The Real Crown, Sir Mike breaches protocol by revealingdetails of his private audience with the Queen. He said: 'What goes on in those audiences and who says what to whom remains for the two people involved, and I will break the rule about not divulging what goes on on this one occasion.

'She was very clear. She said, "My grandsons have taken my shilling, therefore they must do their duty". And that was that.But it was decided that William as heir to the heir, the risk is too great. But for his younger brother, the risk was acceptable.'

The Real Crown reveals that the Queen had put a lot of thought into the decision as she had detailed information about the risks faced by UK armed personnel in Afghanistan.

Sir John Scarlett, at the time head of MI6, said: 'Of course she has complete clearance to everything. She has complete access to an exceptional amount of info and insight for longer than anyone else. William was very keen to go.'

He added: 'She's very, very discreet, completely reliable and completely on top of the detail.

'I remember thinking at the time, "Wow, Her Majesty knows more about this than we do".'

William completed a training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst spanning 44 weeks after graduating from university. He was commissioned as an Army officer in December 2006.

He joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) until 2008 and was later attached to the Royal Air Force and Navy.

Harry served in the Army for ten years, rising to the rank of Captain and undertaking two operational tours of duty in Afghanistan, in 2007-8 and 2012-13.

The documentary shows that William was stopped from joining the war, despite wanting to, due to his position as future King.

Mark Cann, director of the British Forces Foundation, said in the series: 'William was very keen to go. Unequivocally.

'But it was complex, and some very great minds and experienced people took a view on it.

'I think it was really tricky. Anybody who's in the military who hasn't actually been on operation feels a sense of disappointment.

'And I think especially that was the one (war) at the time, you've got everyone around you at the time who's been involved in it. So there is a sense of disappointment.'

The series, which airs on April 20, also examines storylines from Netflix drama The Crown.

ITV notes that the documentary includes rare archive footage and new interviews with key figures, some of whom have never previously spoken on camera, while also offering insight into the Queen's perspective during key moments.

Prince Harry revealed in his memoir Spare that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The Duke of Sussex, who was known as 'Captain Wales' in the military, wrote that he did not think of those killed 'as people' but instead 'chess pieces' he had taken off the board.

It was the first time he had specified the number of insurgents he personally killed during his time in Afghanistan, where he spent four months as an Apache helicopter pilot during his second tour.

Prince Harry said his military career 'saved him' after the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana, by helping him 'turn his pain into purpose'.

During an explosive tell-all interview with 60 Minutes, which premiered on January 8, he told host Anderson Cooper: 'My military career saved me in many regards. It got me out of the spotlight from the UK press.

'I was able to focus on a purpose larger than myself - to be wearing the same uniform as everybody else, to feel normal for the first time in my life, and accomplish some of the biggest challenges that I ever had.'

The Queen denied her 'favourite uncle' - the Duke of Windsor - his dying wish just ten days before his death, a new documentary has revealed.

Aged 46, Elizabeth II famously visited Edward VIII at his and Wallis Simpson's house in Paris, France, during the former King's last days, and apparently rejected his request to grant his wife an HRH title.

The late royal, who died in 1972, had abdicated the throne in 1936 out of love for Wallis, who was American and divorced.

Speaking onThe Real Crown, the duke's nurse Julie Alexander said the rejection 'broke his heart'.

'He was terribly sick,' she said. 'He couldn't have weighed - maybe 80 lbs, if that... he wasn't eating at all.

'The duke was very, very concerned about his appearance but he insisted that he'd be sitting up in a chair, not in bed, and wearing clothes to hide any tubes.'

The visit, although melancholy in nature, also marked the first time Wallis hosted the late monarch.

'The Queen said no,' Julie continued. 'She said no, even on that sad day. It was, you know, breaking his heart, I think. That's what he wanted... that title for her. Not having that title for his wife was a slap in his face.'

The visit which took place in May, 51 years ago, was also depicted in Netflix'sThe Crown.

Elizabethspoke to 'uncle David' - as he was known to close family - alone before appearing with just the duchess for a photograph. The duke died on May 28, less than a month before his 78th birthday.

Edward's relationship with Wallis, who had been twice married before her union with him, was a scandal when news first emerged of it.

His proposition to marry her whilst divorce proceedings with her second husband were still ongoing - sparked a constitutional crisis which culminated in Edward's decision to abdicate.

After his abdication, Edward was made the Duke of Windsor by his brother the new King George VI - and granted the style of His Royal Highness.

However, after their 1937 marriage and decision to settle in France, Edward was upset by the King's decision to issue Letters Patent which denied Wallis the style of Her Royal Highness.

Edward received a tax-free allowance from his brother which went some way to maintaining his and Wallis's lavish lifestyle.

It comes as last summer, a historian claimed that Edward opted to abdicate because his father's treatment of him had made him a 'rebel' who did not have the 'self-discipline' to be king.

Speaking at the Chalke Valley History Festival, which is sponsored by the Daily Mail, historian Professor Jane Ridley said the royal's shocking decision to step back from duties stemmed from the fact his father had made 'no attempt' to prepare him for being king.

She said she showed him no affection or praise and made no effort to 'build a relationship', which in the long run had 'quite bad effects' and was one of the 'key factors leading up to the abdication'.

As a result, whilst Elizabeth and her father King George VI are 'famous' for diligently reading official government papers, Edward's would 'come back with wine stains and cigarette burns on them', Professor Ridley said.

She added Edward thought his role was a 'waste of time' and to a 'large extent' this was a 'reaction against his dad who bullied him'.

Edward spoke of his childhood and his father in his 1951 autobiography, A King's Story, in which he claimed the concept of duty was 'drilled' into him.

However, Professor Ridley said Edward and his brothers, who included the future King George VI, were 'terrified' of their father.

'He would shout at them for things like being five minutes late for dinner. They would be sent back to their bedrooms', she said.

'It is bad enough being shouted at by your father, but it is even harder if your father is the king. These four princes were brought up to be frightened of their father.'

She added: 'George made no attempt to prepare his son for being king. Being king in a conventional fashion. So his son rebels against him and rebels against his idea of kingship.

'George V and the present queen are famous for turning around their red boxes full of documents within hours of getting them back and being punctual and conscientious and diligent.

'I think there is quite a lot of quite sort of not always fascinating work they have to do.

'With Edward VIII, the documents would come back from his place at Windsor they would come back with wine stains on them and cigarette burns.

'It was quite clear that he wasn't respecting all the rules about being discreet, and he just thought the whole thing was a waste of time.

'I think that to a large extent began as a reaction against his dad who bullied him. He thought his dad was a silly old thing, and he became what he was, a rebel, Edward VIII.'

'When he became king he realised he didn't want to do it. Couldn't do it. Didn't have the self-discipline to do it,' she added.

Following his abdication, Edward was made the Duke of Windsor by his brother and granted the style of His Royal Highness.

After being slammed for meeting Adolf Hitler in Germany in 1937, Edward and Wallis spent much of their time holding lavish parties and travelling between Paris and New York.

Princess Margaret's fractured marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones lasted 18 years before they finally divorced - yet one of Lord Snowdon's male lovers has shared his surprise that the pair's relationship even made it that far.

British society interior designerNicky Haslam, 83, claimed in his memoirRedeeming Features (2010) that he had 'a very brief romance' with the late Earl a year before his 1960 wedding to Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister.

Nicky appears in ITV's new five-part royal docuseries The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, which airson Thursday 20 April on ITVX, to discuss society photographer Lord Snowdon and PrincessMargaret's relationship.

In the first episode, titledLove and Duty, Nicky explains: 'Tony was a terrific seducer, he could seduce that table leg. He was terrific fun, Tony, a devil incarnate but a charmer at everything.

'He was naughty but wonderful, I mean naughty in the nicest sense,' says the socialite, before admitting: 'I was quite surprised that it went that far, as far as marriage [betweenAntony andMargaret].'

Lady Anne Glenconner, the late Princess Margaret'slady-in-waiting, also features on the episode - but has less than positive words to say about the royal's husband.

She says: 'Once the marriage started to go wrong, I was there for her when she was having a difficult time. I did see the way Tony treated her which I didn't like at all.

'The thing about Tony was, that he was so spiteful - and did these horrible things. he used to leave little notes,' claims LadyGlenconner.

The socialite,90, who was a maid of honour at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, tells the programme how one message to his wife apparentlyread 'I hate you'.

'I don't know why he behaved like that really, I just felt very sorry for her,' confesses Lady Glenconner.

She adds that 'Tony was quite clever... he kept in with The Queen and The Queen Mother. Absolutely. I mean they thought he was wonderful.'

Elsewhere in the programme,Nicky recalls a not-so blissful moment between the Earl and Princess.

'We were at a party and Tony had one of those matches that would light anywhere, you'd strike them on, old fashion matches, and he was sort of lighting them and throwing them at PrincessMargaret,' explains thesocialite.

'And she said: "Oh Tony, don't do that. You could've set my dress on fire, and he said "Good thing too, I've always hated that material."''

Margaret,who died in 2002 aged 71, met Antony in 1958 at a dinner party organised by mutual friends, and wed at Westminster Abbey in May 1960, the first royal wedding to be televised.

However, the union was reportedly not a good one, and the pair soon drifted apart, with both royals entering into extra-marital affairs.

Margaret famously invited Roddy Llewellyn, a lover who was 17 years her junior, to the island of Mustique in 1974, where they were photographed by paparazzi, precipitating the end of her marriage.

Margaret and Antony, who passed away in 2017, made their divorce official in 1978, after 18 years of marriage.

The romance between Anthony Armstrong-Jones and the royal has been romanticised more than once, most recently in the second and third season of Netflix royal drama The Crown.

The full series is available on Thursday 20 April on ITVX

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The Queen wanted Harry AND William to fight in Afghanistan - Daily Mail

To say William "Billy" Waugh was a legend in the Special Forces community is more than an understatement. He was very nearly mythological.

The unparalleled godfather of the Green Berets, and CIA septuagenarian at the spearhead of early operations in Afghanistan, passed away Tuesday. He was 93.

Waugh was on any short list of famed operators who deployed to the Korean, Vietnam and Afghanistan wars, serving in dozens of countries in his more than 50-year career with Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency.

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In Vietnam, he was almost fatally wounded, later receiving a Silver Star. Despite the wounds, he returned to the war after recovering at Walter Reed. In the '70s, he was the first soldier to conduct a high-altitude, low-opening jump -- known as a HALO jump, now a staple in the special operations repertoire.

When he finished his military career at the rank of sergeant major, Waugh had earned the Silver Star, four Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, more than a dozen Army Air Medals, and a bevy of other awards, according to 1st Special Forces Command, which announced his passing this week.

"From Korea to Afghanistan and every conflict in between, I have fought whomever my country ordered me to fight," Waugh wrote in his autobiography, "Hunting the Jackal." "For 50 years in 64 countries, I have sought and destroyed my country's enemies -- whether they be called communists or terrorists -- wherever they hide."

While Waugh is known for his daring feats and fabled accolades, he was also a lifelong supporter of the military communities that formed him. In turn, he formed them under the shadow of his likeness, never losing his Texas heart, keen wit and indomitable spirit.

At the end of World War II, Waugh, who was born in Texas, ran off to join the Marines at the age of 15, hitchhiking 650 miles across the New Mexico desert. He made it as far as Las Cruces before getting picked up by police for failing to have any identification or "any f---ing money," as he would later recount in an interview with RECOILtv.

"So, I hitchhiked across New Mexico and got dumped out in the desert and it began there," he said. Momentarily hampered, Waugh returned to his hometown of Bastrop, Texas, for a belt-whipping from his mother and eventually a high school diploma.

In August 1948, six months after he turned 18, Waugh joined the Army as a paratrooper, going on to jump out of "a heck of a lot of aircraft."

"I didn't like the Army at all until I got a taste of combat in Korea," he wrote. Waugh rose through the ranks quickly during the Korean War. A spirited and determined man had finally found his place in life -- and it was on the battlefield.

"For the first time in my life, I felt completely at home," he wrote.

In 1952, Waugh attempted to complete Officer Candidate School, but the operator powers that be knew he was needed in the enlisted corps. After contracting malaria in the final weeks of the course, he was placed in the hospital and told he had to revert back to an earlier week.

Instead, he kept his rank of sergeant first class and was assigned as a platoon sergeant in Germany. It was there that he began to hear whispers of the Special Forces -- the Green Berets, the infamous and deadly snake-eaters, who came into existence as an organization in the early 1950s.

"I began politicking for a transfer to SF, and I made a trip to Bad Tolz, [Germany] to see for myself," he wrote. "Once I learned what these fine men -- the fittest and most committed group I had ever seen -- were to become, I knew it was the only place for me."

On June 18, 1965, Waugh was nearly dead in a rice paddy. He was the team sergeant for A Team, 5th Special Forces Group, and had been in and out of Vietnam for the last four years.

He and three other Green Berets, including then-Capt. Paris Davis, who just last month was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that June, were leading a company of inexperienced South Vietnamese soldiers on a raid near the east coast of the country along the South China Sea.

There, after midnight, Waugh, A Team and 86 Vietnamese "mercenaries," as he called them, killed upward of 100 enemies in a stronghold. His actions there earned him the Silver Star.

But after the raid, the South Vietnamese became unorganized, and soon hundreds of enemy fighters counterattacked and pinned the group to a knoll overlooking rice paddies where Waugh was lying near death.

Waugh had taken Vietnamese bullets to his ankle, knees and forehead, wounds that would contribute to his eight Purple Hearts. He was not afraid to die, per se, but rather worried he might never do the thing he loved again.

"I drifted in and out of consciousness, my body perforated with gunshot wounds, leeches feasting on every open wound, with one thought jabbing at my semilucid brain," he wrote. "Damn, my military career is finished. I'll never see combat again."

That, of course, never came to pass -- the operator powers that be again had other plans for Waugh when Davis pulled his near-lifeless body out of the feces-laden paddy and put him on a helicopter.

Davis did not leave a single member of his team behind that day, and would go on to earn the Medal of Honor in March after decades of supporters fighting for its upgrade from a Silver Star.

When Davis was home in 1969, explaining to the public the perils he and his team faced that day, Waugh was recovered and back in Vietnam with the highly classified Military Assistance Command-Vietnam Studies and Observations Group, or MACV-SOG, where he trained Vietnamese fighters in unconventional warfare.

It was with this team that Waugh conducted the first HALO jump into communist North Vietnamese Army-occupied territory as a sergeant major, according to his book and 1st Special Forces Command, one that was done without any of the high-tech night vision devices or altimeters seen in Special Forces today.

"I am saddened to learn of the passing of Billy Waugh, a friend and a great American soldier," Davis told Military.com on Wednesday.

"Billy served our country with distinction, honor and dedication to serving selflessly on behalf of all American citizens," he said. "I remember him as one of the best soldiers I have ever served with in combat. May God bless him and keep him forever."

Davis signed the message as "an admirer and teammate."

Waugh retired in 1972 and returned to Texas for a brief stint with the U.S. Postal Service. "After nearly twenty years in SF, much of it in combat, sorting mail doesn't scratch the same itch," he wrote. "Not even close."

Five years later, Waugh wrote he received a mysterious phone call from an old Special Forces friend. "Billy, are you ready to travel?" the voice asked over the receiver.

And travel Billy did. For the next three decades, he worked as a CIA operative in dozens of countries, starting first in Libya spying on the Soviet-aligned government. There, he honed his skill with a 35mm camera, a craft that would serve him well in his career with the agency.

Between the '70s and '80s, Waugh took on more heavy-duty assignments with the CIA, anywhere from the Marshall Islands to Sudan.

In 2001, when most retired soldiers and spooks would be enjoying their golden years, Waugh was celebrating his 72nd birthday in Afghanistan. He was still with the CIA, this time hunting Osama bin Laden in the caves and high plains of Tora Bora.

He was a rare feature of war, a man who stood at the forefront of America's two most infamous insurgent conflicts -- a fact and position that was certainly not lost on him.

"Two weeks earlier, when the United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III headed for Afghanistan lifted off with me aboard, our country was officially embarking on its War on Terror," he wrote. "I, however, had been at war against terror for quite some time. To me, Operation Enduring Freedom was a natural extension of the work I'd been conducting for close to fifty years."

But Waugh was also a fixture in the Special Forces community up until his death this week. Current and former Special Forces members took to social media to share their stories of meeting Billy Waugh.

1st Special Forces Command wrote on social media: "Our condolences go out to Billy's family, friends, and loved ones. He will be missed. We will always honor and remember him."

The Army's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School said, "He was a pioneer and an American hero who will be missed by many."

Joseph Teti, a co-star of the Discovery Channel's show "Dual Survival" and a former operator, including nearly a decade of service with the Green Berets, said he met Waugh twice while they were both in the CIA.

"I actually saw Billy one time prior," Teti told Military.com on Thursday, recounting one of his first years at the agency. "I knew who he was and I was -- quite frankly -- just too intimidated to even go up to the guy."

Teti would meet Waugh again, this time in early-2000s Afghanistan at a hotel bar. Waugh invited him to have a drink.

"He was just cordial, very nice," Teti said. "When he talks, you just shut up and listen; he was one of those guys that was just such a wealth of knowledge."

Another MACV-SOG alumnus, Jesse Campbell, was with Waugh at the time. Teti told them he admired a picture of them that was hanging on the wall of the bar. It was from their Vietnam days. Waugh asked the bartender to take it down, and he and Campbell both signed it.

The top of the image read, "Joe, kill all the bad guys."

"He handed it to me. You could have knocked me over with a feather duster. ... He didn't know me from a can of paint," Teti said, adding that talking to Waugh "was almost like you were talking to a family member."

Teti rattled his accolades, a condition that many in the community have when it comes to the legend of Billy Waugh. Teti said that Waugh was as "tough as woodpecker lips" and harder than "Superman's kneecaps" to do what he did for as long as he did it for.

"It's staggering," he said. "It's a testament to how good of an operator he was -- to physically survive what he was doing in such austere and dangerous high-threat environments."

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: Paris Davis, Black Green Beret in Vietnam, Finally Awarded Medal of Honor at White House

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From Korea to Afghanistan: Special Forces Legend Billy Waugh's Amazing Career Spanned Five Decades - Military.com

FORWARD AND INTRODUCTION

Twenty-two years ago, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000) based on the recognition that peace and security are not achievable without the active and meaningful participation of women. Despite the passage of nine subsequent resolutions and advances in related policy and practiceall of which together comprise the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda too few women are represented in peace and security decision making. Instead, global security has deteriorated, precipitating a dramatic escalation of military expenditure. At the same time, womens peacebuilding efforts continue to be underfunded and undermined. The realization of peace and security remains distant for far too many. This report highlights areas of notable concern and of progress since that landmark resolution.

Reports of sexual violence are increasing in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Millions of civilians, mostly women, children and older persons, have fled their homes. In Afghanistan, womens rights have been deconstructed by the Taliban and women are painfully absent from public spaces. Across the world, the climate emergency continues to destabilize communities. While there is progress in some countries, in many others, womens rights are being undermined. Cumulatively, this is posing unprecedented challenges to global peace and security. These are challenges that the WPS agenda is uniquely suited to solve. Women peacebuilders are meeting these challenges head on. Despite a lack of funding and other support and, in many cases, at great personal risk, they continue to mobilize constituencies for peace, hold decision-makers accountable, mediate conflict and successfully stand up for human rights

In Colombia, the recently released report by the Truth Commission underscored the grave human rights violations that women experienced during the long years of conflict there. Women activists tireless advocacy and community mobilization have now been validated by the Government, which has committed to implementing the reports recommendations. In Ukraine, UN Womens recent rapid assessment highlighted the many women-focused civil society organizations on the frontlines that serve people even as conflict rages. In every crisis, from the Sahel to Ethiopia to Syria and Haiti and more, we must support such women leaders. We must listen to and respond to their many urgent needs, such as for funding and for a meaningful role in decision-making, whether in relation to humanitarian relief, peace talks or reconstruction plans. The progress to date that this report records is most welcome. However, in the context of the current challenges, we are all impatient for accelerated progress. We need ambitious and strategic responses that close the gender gap and move us towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

I therefore ask that all of us in the multilateral system defend our shared values and commitments with the same determination as has been demonstrated by the womens movement. In honouring womens central roles in finding peaceful solutions, we will foster and benefit from societies that are more just, inclusive and durable. Only these can stop the drivers of conflict and shape a new history, one not of constant crises but of lasting peace.

Executive Director

Ms Sima Bahous

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Women, Peace and Security Annual Report 2020 - 2021 - Afghanistan - ReliefWeb

Australia's Defence chief has declined to say how many senior officers have faced punishment over the damning findings of the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry, but has warned of "uncomfortable days" ahead as more disciplinary action is taken.

In a rare public speaking engagement in Sydney, General Angus Campbell also praised the Ukrainian armed forces, described an apparent intelligence leak from the Pentagon as "serious", and was quizzed on military tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Addressing the Lowy Institute, General Campbell hailed the "extraordinarily impressive" work of Ukraine's military in fighting Russia's invasion, but warned the war was likely to be prolonged as long as both sides had the "will" to maintain the fight.

"What we see from the President [Zelenskyy], all the way through the Ukrainian people, is utter commitment to fight to recover Ukraine. Sovereign, territorially, whole, and free," he said.

The general said the material support being provided by Western allies including Australia, as well as the "extraordinary skilland rapidity of learning" shown by Ukrainian forces was the factor most likely to shift the war in favour of the besieged nation.

He noted Russia lacked the same level of "tactical" skill and innovation while adding he was "hopeful of what Ukraine may be able to achieve".

Following his prepared remarks, the Defence chief was asked about whether the ADF was bracing for more war crime charges and reputational damage from the Afghanistan war, a month after the arrest of a veteran from the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR).

"The Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), which is working independent of Defence, has seen a first arrest and charging of a former soldier," General Campbell noted.

"There may be others and that is a matter for the OSI and ultimately then a matter for the Commonwealth's Director of Public Prosecutions.

"I don't look to the question of how do I protect my reputation or the reputation of the Australian Defence Force, instead I ask the question; what is the correct values and behaviours and purpose to which we should be applying our effort and reputation emerges.

"It's really important to support the people who are involved but to recognise that if we have failed as an organisation then we need to face that; and this is part of that story, and we are individually and collectively better for it if we do so.

"You won't see me trying to gloss over these things, and I think that there could be some very uncomfortable days coming forward, a matter for the OSI, a matter for the courts.What matters to me; values, behaviours and mission of the Australian Defence Force that's what builds reputation."

Pressed further on his own view of command responsibility and how many senior officers had faced internal disciplinary action since the handing down of the Brereton report in November 2020, General Campbell declined to give details.

"That work continues, and I am not at liberty to speak to it until it has been completed. But we have undertakenthe work as recommended by Justice Brereton under accountability."

Last yearVeterans' groups demanded the Albanese government pull rank on the Defence chief to prevent him revoking medals over command failures in Afghanistan, before any alleged war crimes were proven in court.

Special forces insiders claim morale at the Perth-based SASR remains at "rock bottom" with many soldiers deciding to voluntarily discharge.

General Campbell saidreports of a likely large intelligence leak in the United States was a "serious" incident, noting that American authorities were now engaging with partners to understand the consequences.

"The issue of maintaining the security of information is critical to the development of national capability and to the trust and confidence across allies and partners. I appreciate this, by reports, it is a serious leak," he said.

"I am not, obviously as a military officer, someone who believes all information should be free and I do believe that there is a national interest in the protection of some information."

General Campbellwas also circumspect when asked about growing tensions between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan, and whether Australia could be dragged into a future conflict.

"Anything that undermines the security stability and the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region in which we live is of interest to Australia."

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Defence chief Angus Campbell warns of 'uncomfortable days' ahead on Afghanistan war crimes action - ABC News

The man accused of leaking information about Australian soldiers' alleged war crimes in Afghanistan has finally received a trial date, four years after he was charged.

Former military officer and lawyer David McBride faces five charges, including theft, disclosing information in breach of the Crimes Act and unlawfully giving classified information under the Defence Act.

His trial in the ACT Supreme Court will begin in November.

Mr McBride allegedly passed on classified documents to three journalists.

Details of the alleged war crimes were first made public in 2017 in anABC series known as the Afghan Files.

Earlier, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force had commissioned an investigation of"rumours" of potential war crimes, which led to the so-called Brereton report.

That report recommended police investigate 19 special forces soldiers for the alleged murders of 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians, and the cruel treatment of two others.

The case against Mr McBride led to a highly publicised Australian Federal Police raid on the ABC's Sydney headquarters in 2019.

Mr McBride had hoped to argue he should be immune from prosecution becausehewas a whistleblower who had acted in the public interest.

But his application was withdrawn last year when the Commonwealth moved to remove key expert evidence from the hearings.

Mr McBride was not in court on Thursday for the short hearing to set his trial date, but he was in Canberra earlier in the week when his supporters protested outside the court.

The trial will run for three weeks, but it is not known whether it will be held in secret.

KieranPender, a senior lawyer with the Human Rights Law Centre, urged the federal government to abandon Mr McBride's case, saying it should never have started.

"Whistleblowers who speak up about grave human rights violations should be protected, not prosecuted," Mr Pender said.

"There is no public interest in prosecuting David McBride, who blew the whistle on alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

"With a trial date now set for late 2023, McBride will have spent more than five years facing punishment by process."

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David McBride to face trial this year as Australian Defence Force investigates alleged Afghanistan war crimes - ABC News