In a note dated 7 April 2011, a senior officer warned the director of UK special forces about the policy, sharing concerns from the unit's commanding officer.

But the senior officer, codenamed N1466, said a "conscious decision" was made to cover up potential war crimes by the unit, dubbed UKSF1.

The document was released by the Afghanistan Inquiry after evidence was given in closed hearings by UK special forces members.

In the note, N1466 – who was assistant chief of staff for operations in UKSF headquarters – described what he'd heard from the unit's commanding officer.

"He felt that this was... possibly a deliberate policy among the current (sub-unit) to engage and kill fighting-aged males on target even when they did not pose a threat," the note read.

"He had been approached by some of his men who recounted separate conversations with (trained) members of UKSF1 in which such suggestions had been made."

The note explained that the unit's commanding officer "is sure that they are accurately reporting what they are hearing from colleagues".

And while N1466 conceded that the allegation could be simply a "rumour" or a "wind up", he said "the context would not support either assertion".

'Rumour could prove explosive'

He continued: "The very fact that this rumour is circulating is in itself distasteful and in my view unacceptable to UKSF ethos and UKSF dynamics - it could prove explosive.

"Clearly, if there is anything more than rumour behind it then elements of UKSF have strayed into indefensible ethical and legal behaviour."

He concluded: "My instinct is that this merits deeper investigation."

However, the director, known to the inquiry as N1802, made a "conscious decision" to cover up potential war crimes, N1466 claimed.

The senior officer further accused the director of controlling information about alleged murders "in a way that I think indicated a desire to keep it low profile".

N1466 said he became concerned that data from deliberate detention operations (DDOs), including the number of weapons found compared with the number of enemies killed, "didn't seem credible".

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The director shared his view, he believed, but chose to handle the information in a "way which limited the spread of the damage outside the headquarters".

N1802 failed to "ever talk about possible criminal activity", the officer alleged, instead initiating a review of the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) used by the sub-unit in question in April 2011.

Review 'was a charade'

In his witness statement, the officer recalled feeling that the TTP review was intended as a "warning shot across the bows" of the unit.

But, he said, "it was obvious that it was a charade".

"I was sure at the time and I remain sure that N1802 knew what was happening on the ground," he said.

"The speed of N1802's response and the absence of any further mention or investigation of unlawful activity only fortified my belief that he was aware of what was going on."

Among the documents released by the inquiry was a summary of an interview between N1466 and the Royal Military Police (RMP) in October 2018.

During the exchange, the officer described an incident where members of UKSF1 went to clear a compound and found a room where people were hiding under a mosquito net.

Claims incident was 'covered up'

The document read: "They did not reveal themselves, so the UKSF1 shot at the net until there was no movement.

"When the net was uncovered it was women and children.

"The incident was covered up and the individual who did the shooting was allegedly given some form of award to make it look legitimate."

N1466 also told the inquiry why he was speaking out, saying "it's not loyalty to your organisation to stand by and to watch it go down a sewer".

In his remarks, he referred to the alleged 2012 shooting of two children – Imran and Bilal, sons of Hussain Uzbakzai and his wife Ruqquia Haleem – who were in their beds.

He said: "I know a lot of my colleagues... didn't join UKSF for this sort of behaviour, you know, toddlers to get shot in their beds or random killing.

"It's not special, it's not elite, it's not what we stand for and most of us I don't believe would either wish to condone it or to cover it up."

He added: "Even if you subscribe to some sort of idea that most of the people who were killed were Taliban fighters, which I do not... Imran and Bilal, at one-and-a-half and three, certainly were not."

Concluding, he said: "UKSF units, not least UKSF1, stand out for their proud history; the courageous and extraordinary feats made by truly remarkable people.

"The activity that we have discussed in the last few days does not fit with that and somehow the amount of kills and the amount of trigger time have become the metric by which people judge themselves."

Afghan families claim UKSF conducted a "campaign of murder" against civilians, and that senior officers and personnel at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) "sought to prevent adequate investigation".

Operation Northmoor, a £10m investigation set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces, including those of children, resulted in no prosecutions.

A RMP investigation, dubbed Operation Cestro, resulted in three soldiers being referred to the Service Prosecuting Authority, but again, none of them were prosecuted.

An MoD spokesperson said: "The government is fully committed to supporting the independent inquiry relating to Afghanistan as it continues its work, and we are hugely grateful to all former and current defence employees who have so far given evidence.

"We also remain committed to providing the support that our special forces deserve, whilst maintaining the transparency and accountability that the British people rightly expect from their armed forces.

"It is appropriate that we await the outcome of the inquiry's work before commenting further."

The inquiry continues.

Three children and a 21-year-old died in Saturday's shooting at a banquet hall, with 11 more injured.

"We all know that there are people out there [who] are violent and commit violent crimes," said Patrick Withrow, sheriff of San Joaquin County.

"But these animals walked in and shot children at a children's birthday party."

Officers were called to the banquet hall in Stockton just before 6pm local time (2am UK time).

Around 100-150 people had gathered to celebrate a child's birthday.

The sheriff told reporters he had been at a Thanksgiving celebration in Oregon during the incident but "put down my grandbabies to come hunt down these animals who took somebody else's babies away from them".

He appealed for the public to send in "any little bit" of information that could lead to the arrest of the gunmen.

"If you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know."

There is currently nobody in custody over the incident.

Although the investigation is still under way, Sheriff Withrow said there appeared to have been "multiple shooters" who began the attack indoors and then moved outside.

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The shooting was "not a random act", he said. "They walked into this area and were probably looking for somebody in particular."

He confirmed that guns had been found on the roof of a nearby building but it was too early to say whether they were "related to this crime".

Police have also towed multiple cars in the area, some damaged with bullet holes, in case they can be used as evidence.

"Please continue to give us more information," he said, "and we will follow every single lead."

A vigil was held for the victims on Sunday, according to local media, with the entire local council in attendance.

On Saturday, Stockton mayor Christina Fugazi said that "families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive".

California governor Gavin Newsom's office added that he had been briefed on the "horrific shooting".

The Ukrainian president will be accompanied by First Lady Olena Zelenska and meet Mr Martin, president Catherine Connolly and foreign minister Helen McEntee.

Mr Martin said he and Mr Zelenskyy would be holding a bilateral meeting, as well as attending the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, which he said "offers an opportunity to explore the potential for strengthened business-to-business, trade and investment links between Ireland and Ukraine".

Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said: "It is an honour to welcome President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to Ireland.

"Around the world, he is rightly recognised as someone who embodies the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, who have inspired the world in their brave defence of their country and its sovereignty since it was brutally and illegally invaded by Russia.

"I have met with President Zelenskyy many times, including in Kyiv, but I particularly look forward to greeting him on this first official visit of a Ukrainian president to Ireland."

Ireland has been a staunch ally of Ukraine's since Russia began its invasion in 2022, offering some 120,000 Ukrainians a safe haven.

US-Ukraine talks begin in Florida

The Ireland announcement comes after Mr Zelenskyy's top team engaged in peace talks with the US for several hours in Florida on Sunday.

The US-Ukraine talks were quickly organised after Donald Trump released a 28-point proposal that was largely seen to be favouring Russia, having been developed in earlier negotiations between Washington and Moscow.

The plan would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine's military, blocked Ukraine from joining NATO and required it to hold elections in 100 days. It also initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia.

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It isn't clear what changes have been made so far, but US secretary of state Marco Rubio has reassured Ukraine over the plans.

"This is not just about ending a war. This is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign, never have another war again, and create tremendous prosperity for its people," he said.

"Not just rebuild the country, but to enter an era of extraordinary economic progress."

He added: "This is not just about peace deals. It's about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous. We expect to make even more progress today."

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's security council, responded by saying the US was "hearing", "supporting" and "working beside" Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy's team in the US was without his former chief of staff and lead negotiator, Andrii Yermak, as he quit on Friday after officials raided his home amid a corruption scandal.

After the meeting, Mr Rubio said the talks had been "productive", but more work remained to be done.

On X, Mr Zelenskyy said: "I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump's team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war. We will continue working. I look forward to receiving a full report from our team during a personal meeting."

Later this week, Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow to continue talks with the Kremlin.

Sustained Russian aerial assaults over the weekend

While peace talks ensued, Russian forces launched overnight attacks in and around Kyiv over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more.

Impacts were also reported in the regions of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kherson.

Mr Zelenskyy said: "Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine's resilience every day."

The attacks also hit Ukrainian energy facilities and left hundreds of thousands without power in the capital. Supplies have since been restored.

Targeting such infrastructure has become a familiar tactic from Russia over the winter, in what Ukraine officials say is the "weaponising" of the cold.

Ukraine launched its own drones at two of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" oil tankers in the Black Sea on Friday, and claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The terminal is owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which includes Russian, Kazakh and US shareholders.

Subsequently, on Sunday, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said it viewed Ukraine's attack as "an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine", adding it expected Ukraine to "take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future".

Ukraine's foreign ministry said the country's actions were not directed against Kazakhstan or third parties and were only aimed at repelling what it called "full-scale Russian aggression".

Nathan Osman, 30, from Pontypridd in South Wales, was on a long weekend break with friends in Benidorm in September 2024.

Less than 24 hours after he arrived, his body was found by an off-duty police officer at the bottom of a remote 650ft (200m) cliff on the outskirts of the resort.

He died from head and abdominal injuries after falling from height, a post-mortem found.

Local police said it was "a tragic accident" that occurred after Nathan left his friends in Benidorm to walk back to his hotel room alone.

But his family believe the investigation into his death has not been adequate, and that the local authorities have never considered the possibility of a homicide.

Their suspicions of foul play were first provoked by the fact that the remote location where Nathan was found was in the opposite direction to the hotel, and some distance away on foot.

They began doing their own investigating, building a timeline of events drawn from sources including CCTV, witness statements and Nathan's bank records, which they say showed attempts were made to use his bank cards the day after he died.

After presenting their findings to Spanish prosecutors as evidence that others may have been involved, the case was reopened earlier this year.

Now, the family have told Sarah-Jane Mee on The UK Tonight that new phone data they have uncovered suggests he couldn't have reached the spot he was found on foot.

After getting the phone back a couple of months ago, they say they tracked Nathan's last movements through a health app.

"There's a breakdown inside the app of every 10 minutes - the distance, pace, measurement of pace… every detail you can think of," Nathan's brother, Lee Evans, tells Mee.

"His pace wasn't consistent with a fast walk or even a sprint."

He said it was a faster journey, despite being uphill for 40 minutes, which has convinced the family that he was in a vehicle.

The family also went to visit the area where Nathan was found.

"We were a bit upset, but we were very pleased we went up there", his mother, Elizabeth, says. "We could see… there's no way he would have looked at that area and thought, 'I'm going up here.'

"You can see straight off, there's no clubs, there's no hotels up there, there's just the odd house dotted around. It was just out in the wild, there was nothing up there."

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The family says the phone data has helped them determine that he died around half an hour after he was seen on CCTV walking towards his hotel in the early hours of the morning.

"It was really ridiculous to think that my son would've walked up there [the remote location where he died] at 4am in the pitch dark."

After the family were interviewed by Mee in May, South Wales Police opened its own investigation into Nathan's death.

Lee says the Welsh force has been "appalled" by the lack of evidence turned over from the local police's investigation.

His and Nathan's father, Jonathan, says: "No procedures were followed. Nothing was cordoned off, it wasn't a crime scene. There's loads of things that could've been taken. Tyre tracks, foot tracks, nothing. No DNA taken."

Lee says: "All that we've done over the last year, this could've been squashed within the first week, two weeks [by local investigators].

"We've had to find out and keep delving into every possible outcome and overturn every stone possible. We started off with… a needle in a haystack, we had no direction or any support on which way to go."

What does Nathan's family hope for now?

Nathan's family say they have located 27 CCTV cameras which could have picked Nathan up in the area, after local investigators didn't find any.

Elizabeth says that after alerting Spanish police to the locations, they were told that the CCTV "wouldn't be working" or that footage would've already been erased.

"They just surmised everything," she adds.

But the family, who found the last known CCTV footage of Nathan earlier this year, are convinced there is still hope.

Lee says: "There's a number of CCTV footage in that area. We know there's a way of finding a vehicle of some sort."

But the family admit they may never find whoever could be responsible for Nathan's death because so much time has been lost.

Elizabeth concludes: "Nathan walks with us every day. We all believe that," adding that "all we want" is to find the ones responsible for his death and for him to "have the respect of a decent investigation".

Sky News contacted Spanish police, which declined to comment, adding the case is under judicial review and it doesn't want to hinder the course of the investigation.

South Wales Police told Sky News: "South Wales Police is carrying out enquiries on behalf of HM Coroner and a family liaison officer has been appointed to provide support."

The prime minister is expected to set out how the budget, which saw £26bn of tax rises imposed across the economy, "moves forward the government's programme of national renewal", and set "the right economic course" for Britain, Downing Street says.

He will also confirm that ministers will try again to reform the "broken" welfare system, after Labour MPs forced the government to U-turn on its plans to narrow the eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) earlier this year.

'Of course I didn't' lie about public finances, says Reeves

"We have to confront the reality that our welfare state is trapping people, not just in poverty, but out of work - young people especially. And that is a poverty of ambition," Sir Keir will say.

"And so while we will invest in apprenticeships and make sure every young person without a job has a guaranteed offer of training or work, we must also reform the welfare state itself - that is what renewal demands."

The prime minister will add: "This is not about propping up a broken status quo. Nor is it because we want to look somehow politically 'tough'. The Tories played that game and the welfare bill went up by £88bn. They left children too poor to eat and young people too ill to work. A total failure."

Instead, he will argue it is about "potential", saying: "If you are ignored that early in your career, if you're not given the support you need to overcome your mental health issues, or if you are simply written off because you're neurodivergent or disabled, then it can trap you in a cycle of worklessness and dependency for decades, which costs the country money, is bad for our productivity, but most importantly of all - costs the country opportunity and potential.

"And any Labour Party worthy of the name cannot ignore that. That is why we have asked Alan Milburn on the whole issue of young people, inactivity and work. We need to remove the incentives which hold back the potential of our young people."

The announcement will come after the Conservative opposition described the budget as one for "benefits street", following the chancellor's decision to lift the two-child benefit cap from April, at a cost of £3bn.

'Government must go further and faster on growth'

The prime minister is also expected to launch a staunch defence of the budget overall, saying it will bear down on the cost of living through measures like money off energy bills and frozen rail fares; increase economic stability; and protect investment in public services and infrastructure that will drive economic growth.

He will argue that "economic growth is beating the forecasts", but that the government must go "further and faster" to encourage it.

He will also reiterate his vow to scrap regulation across the economy, which he will argue is not only pro-business, but also a way to deal with the cost of living.

"Rooting out excessive costs in every corner of the economy is an essential step to lower the cost of living for good, as well as promoting more dynamic markets for business," the prime minister will say.

He will confirm reforms to the building of nuclear power plants, after the government's nuclear regulatory taskforce found that "pointless gold-plating, unnecessary red-tape and well-intentioned, but fundamentally misguided environmental regulation had made Britain the most expensive place to build nuclear power".

"We urgently need to correct this," the prime minister will say.

Business secretary Peter Kyle will be tasked with applying the same deregulatory approach to major infrastructure schemes and to accelerate the implementation of Labour's industrial strategy.

In response, Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: "It is frankly laughable to hear the prime minister say Rachel Reeves's Benefits Street budget has put the country on the right course and that he wants to fix the welfare system.

"His chancellor has just hiked taxes by £26bn to pay for a welfare splurge, penalising people who work hard and making them pay for those who don't work at all. And she misrepresented why she was doing it, claiming there was a fiscal black hole to fill that she knew didn't exist.

"Labour's leadership have repeatedly shown they lack the backbone to tackle welfare and instead are just acting to placate their left-wing backbenchers."

Chancellor accused of 'lying'

Sir Mel is referring to the chancellor's speech on 4 November in which she laid the ground for tax rises due to the decision by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to review and downgrade productivity over recent years, at a cost of £16bn, which led to a black hole in the public finances.

But the OBR revealed on Friday that it had told the Treasury days earlier that there was actually a budget surplus of £4.2bn, leading to outrage and claims that she misled the country about the state of the public finances.

Rachel Reeves was asked directly by Sky's Trevor Phillips if she lied, and she replied: "Of course I didn't."

She said: "I said in that speech that I wanted to achieve three things in the budget - tackling the cost of living, which is why I took £150 off of energy bills and froze prescription charges and rail fares.

"I wanted to continue to cut NHS waiting lists, which is why I protected NHS spending. And I wanted to bring the debt and the borrowing down, which is one of the reasons why I increased the headroom.

"£4bn of headroom would not have been enough, and it would not give the Bank of England space to continue to cut interest rates."

Ms Reeves also said: "In the context of a downgrade in our productivity, which cost £16bn, I needed to increase taxes, and I was honest and frank about that in the speech that I gave at the beginning of November."

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: "I think the chancellor has been doing a terrible job. She's made a mess of the economy, and [...] she has told lies. This is a woman who, in my view, should be resigning."

Report due on OBR breach

The tumultuous run-up to the 26 November budget culminated in the OBR accidentally publishing its assessment of the chancellor's measures 45 minutes before the speech began, in what was an unprecedented breach of budget security.

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The chair of the OBR, Richard Hughes, apologised for the "error", and announced an investigation into how it happened.

The chancellor has said that she retains confidence in him, despite the "serious breach of protocol", and confirmed to Trevor that the investigation report will be delivered to her on Monday, although it is not clear when it will be published.