SAS soldiers are resigning in significant numbers over fears they will be subjected to ‘witch hunts’ by human-rights lawyers in what is being called a “threat to national security”. The Telegraph has the story.

Multiple sources have claimed that personnel from across 22 SAS, the Army’s most elite fighting force, have applied for premature voluntary release.

The Telegraph is withholding the exact figure for security reasons. However, several SAS sources have described the recent losses as “significant” and a “threat to national security”.

At least two squadrons, D and G, are believed to have been affected, with insiders saying outrage over recent war crime probes into Afghanistan and Syria, which have been branded ‘witch hunts’, are believed to be the main driving forces.

The treatment of elderly Northern Ireland veterans who served in the SAS but have also found themselves being hounded through the courts on claims viewed as vexatious, some of which were described as “ludicrous” by a judge, has also contributed.

Among those understood to have resigned include several senior warrant officers, who are the backbone of the special forces and among the most experienced troops in the regiment. A number are understood to have applied for release ‘on principle’ just before Christmas.

“Morale is s–t at the moment,” one insider with knowledge of the recent losses warned, while another said there was “considerable disquiet” in the regiment as a result. …

Last month it was revealed 242 special forces troops, including 120 serving personnel, were being hounded by lawyers as part of £1 million-a-month human rights inquiries.

The figures were unveiled in a memo shared with the Special Air Service and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment associations last month.

Secret operations across Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Syria are being probed by lawyers, with troops involved facing legal sanctions if they fail to comply.

The memo, revealed by the Daily Mail, claimed troops had started to sign off in protest at the legal onslaught.

Read More: SAS Soldiers Resign En Masse Over War Crime ‘Witch Hunts’