Former SAS soldier and bestselling author Andy McNab has said he would not join the regiment today, warning that fears of investigations and prosecution years after operations are damaging confidence inside Britain's Special Forces.
McNab's intervention comes amid a wider and increasingly public dispute between SAS veterans and the Government over legal scrutiny of historic military operations. On the same day, the Special Air Service Regimental Association threatened a robust legal challenge unless ministers change their approach to Northern Ireland legacy cases.
The warnings follow claims earlier this year from former 22 SAS commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Richard Williams that experienced personnel were leaving the regiment in significant numbers because of fears that operational decisions could later lead to investigation or arrest.
McNab: 'I would not join the SAS today'
McNab, who served for 18 years in the British Army and became widely known after writing about his SAS service, set out his argument in a first-person article published on 1 September.
He claimed serving Special Forces personnel were increasingly walking away from the job and that potential recruits were being deterred by the possibility that actions taken on operations could result in investigations or prosecution under human-rights law years later.
His central concern is that uncertainty over future legal action could introduce hesitation into decisions that soldiers may have to make in seconds during counter-terrorism or combat operations.
McNab did not argue that SAS personnel should have complete immunity from prosecution. He acknowledged the need for legal accountability, but argued that repeated or prolonged scrutiny risks undermining soldiers' confidence that the state will support them when they have acted lawfully.
SAS association threatens Government with legal challenge
McNab's comments coincide with an unusually direct intervention from the Special Air Service Regimental Association.
The association, which represents serving and former members of the regiment, told LBC it was prepared to mount a robust legal challenge unless the Government changes legislation dealing with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
It said proceedings against veterans should not be allowed without compelling new evidence, that key decisions should be taken outside Northern Ireland and that independent oversight should be capable of preventing unfair treatment of former service personnel.
The association argues that soldiers who served during Operation Banner risk being judged decades later through a legal framework that has evolved since the events under examination.
Ed Butler warns recruitment could be damaged
Brigadier Ed Butler, president of the SAS Regimental Association and a former commanding officer of 22 SAS, has warned that the dispute could ultimately affect Britain's Special Forces capability.
Butler told LBC that some personnel were being deterred from attempting SAS selection because they feared that decisions made during high-risk operations could result in investigations decades later.
He questioned whether serving personnel could be confident that the state had their backs and warned of a worst-case scenario in which the country's Special Forces capability was gradually diminished because people were unwilling to join.
Richard Williams warned of departures in April
The latest interventions reinforce a warning issued in April by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Williams, another former commanding officer of 22 SAS.
Williams told LBC that serving SAS personnel were leaving in significant numbers and said fears surrounding retrospective legal scrutiny were contributing to decisions to end military careers early.
He argued that the danger went beyond a reduction in personnel. If soldiers begin second-guessing lawful operational decisions because they fear future prosecution, Williams said, the effectiveness of Special Forces could also be weakened.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment specifically on UK Special Forces at the time, but said it was immensely proud of the Armed Forces and remained committed to ensuring personnel were properly protected within the law.
Row centres on Northern Ireland Troubles legislation
Much of the current dispute concerns the Government's Northern Ireland Troubles legislation and its attempt to replace significant elements of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.
The 2023 legislation, introduced under the previous Conservative government, created the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery and included a conditional immunity scheme for certain Troubles-related offences.
Labour opposed those immunity provisions and has sought to reshape the legacy system following legal challenges to parts of the 2023 Act.
The Government argues that its replacement framework must provide answers to families while also protecting veterans from unnecessary repeat investigations.
Government says veterans who followed rules should not fear prosecution
The veterans' criticism is strongly disputed by the Government.
A Government spokesperson responding to the latest arguments said there was no question of needless repeat investigations or veterans being prosecuted simply for having followed the rules.
Ministers say more than 1,000 families of murdered UK civilians and service personnel remain without answers and argue that a reformed Legacy Commission should provide the primary route through which families can obtain information about Troubles-related deaths.
Government briefing on the legislation has also stressed that civil claims are made against the state rather than individual veterans in the overwhelming majority of cases and that legal assistance is available to veterans involved in legacy proceedings.
Accountability debate extends beyond Northern Ireland
The broader argument about Special Forces accountability cannot be considered solely through the Northern Ireland legacy dispute.
An independent statutory inquiry is currently examining allegations of unlawful activity by UK Special Forces during deliberate detention operations in Afghanistan between mid-2010 and mid-2013.
The Afghanistan Inquiry is also examining whether investigations carried out by the Royal Military Police into those allegations were adequate.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed in 2023 that the allegations being considered by the inquiry relate to UK Special Forces.
The inquiry remains active. In July 2026 it published evidence from witnesses who had approached the inquiry following a call for information, including concerns about the conduct of UK Special Forces.
Serious allegations make accountability central to debate
The existence of the Afghanistan Inquiry provides an important counterweight to arguments for stronger protection from retrospective investigation.
Those supporting rigorous independent scrutiny argue that elite military status cannot place personnel beyond the law and that credible allegations of unlawful killings or other serious misconduct must be capable of investigation.
The inquiry has not reached final conclusions on the allegations it is examining, and allegations should not be treated as findings of wrongdoing.
That distinction is crucial: the debate is not simply between supporting soldiers and prosecuting them, but over how the state can investigate credible allegations while avoiding repeated or unjustified legal processes against personnel who acted within the law.
Former Labour defence minister backs calls for protection
The concern over prolonged legal exposure has also received support from within Labour ranks.
Former Armed Forces minister Al Carns, who served for 24 years in the Royal Marines, has backed calls to prevent Northern Ireland veterans facing what he described as endless legal jeopardy.
His intervention accompanied a Policy Exchange report based partly on interviews with more than a dozen SAS veterans, which argued that the current approach to Troubles cases risks damaging morale and recruitment.
The Government rejects the suggestion that its legislation amounts to a campaign against veterans and maintains that its system can provide both accountability and safeguards for those who served lawfully.
National security argument moves to centre of dispute
What makes the latest interventions politically significant is the increasingly explicit link being drawn between historic legal cases and the present-day effectiveness of Britain's Special Forces.
McNab, Williams and Butler are all arguing in different ways that the perception of future legal jeopardy can influence whether experienced soldiers remain in the regiment, whether others attempt selection and how personnel think during operations.
Those claims about recruitment and operational behaviour are principally the assessments of veterans and former commanders rather than publicly verifiable Special Forces personnel data, which is highly restricted.
The Government, meanwhile, faces the competing obligations of maintaining confidence among serving personnel and veterans, complying with the law and ensuring credible allegations involving state forces can be properly examined.
A debate unlikely to disappear
McNab's declaration that he would not join today's SAS gives a striking public voice to concerns that former commanders and veterans' organisations have been raising for months.
Combined with the SAS Regimental Association's threat of legal action and Williams's warning about personnel leaving the regiment, the issue is becoming a broader political argument about the relationship between the state, the Armed Forces and the legal system.
But the ongoing Afghanistan Inquiry demonstrates why calls for protection cannot be separated from demands for accountability where serious and credible allegations exist.
The central question for ministers is therefore how to prevent veterans and serving personnel facing unnecessary or repetitive legal jeopardy without creating a system in which legitimate allegations cannot be independently investigated.
Sources
- Andy McNab: I would not join the SAS today — 1 September 2026
- LBC: SAS veterans threaten Government with legal challenge — 1 September 2026
- LBC: Richard Williams warns SAS troops are leaving — 21 April 2026
- Ministry of Defence: Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan
- Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan: latest inquiry updates
- Northern Ireland Office: Government position on legacy investigations