The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has for the first time confirmed that UK Special Forces are at the centre of an ongoing war crimes inquiry. The MoD had previously sought to restrict any mention of Special Forces' involvement in alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. But on Wednesday, it abandoned its effort, following a challenge by bereaved family members and several media outlets, including the BBC. In a statement ahead of a hearing of the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "The inquiry is now reaching the stage of substantive hearings, and I can confirm that the allegations relate to the conduct of UK Special Forces."

Wallace added that the confirmation of Special Forces involvement was only made "in the exceptional circumstances of this inquiry". He stressed that the confirmation should not be seen to alter the longstanding government position not to comment on the deployment or activities of UK Special Forces. The decision follows years of reporting into alleged SAS unlawful killings, including a long-running BBC investigation which uncovered evidence suggesting one SAS unit killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances in one six-month tour in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011.

The MoD is still seeking to restrict the public from seeing any evidence or documents which confirm or deny the alleged involvement of Special Forces in the operations under investigation. However, the ministry has abandoned its request for all Special Forces personnel involved to automatically be granted anonymity, and for all witness evidence about the operations themselves to be held in closed hearings.

Tessa Gregory, a partner at Leigh Day, the law firm representing the bereaved families, said that the relatives had suffered "years of cover up and obfuscation" and remained concerned even as the inquiry began that the MoD was "seeking to shut the door on them and prevent evidence being heard in public". At the hearing, Lord Justice Haddon Cave said that, in line with the 2005 Inquiries Act, "as much as possible should be heard in public to allay public concerns about the subject matter of the inquiry". However, he acknowledged that some evidence would need to be heard in closed hearings due to national security concerns.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed for the first time that UK Special Forces are at the centre of a war crimes inquiry.

The MoD on Wednesday abandoned an effort to restrict any mention of Special Forces' involvement in alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

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A spokesman for the MoD said: "It is not appropriate for the MoD to comment on cases which are within the scope of the Statutory Inquiry and it is up to the Statutory Inquiry Team, led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, to determine which allegations are investigated." At the hearing, a lawyer for the Royal Military Police, Paul Greaney KC, said that it was currently investigating allegations of unlawful killings in Afghanistan and had received evidence from informants on a confidential basis.