Gone rogue

The superinjunction around the Afghan data leak reveals a culture of impunity at the special forces

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Britain's special forces operate under an implicit bargain with voters and MPs: in return for unusual effectiveness and lethality, they're allowed to keep their names and details of their operations secret. Even the intelligence agencies have to account for themselves before parliament, but the special forces are left to operate in a shady category of their own.

That bargain has broken down. The email mistakenly sent from special forces HQ exposed 18,000 Afghan soldiers and their dependents to potential reprisals by the Taliban.

There is not one disgrace here, but three. Cover-up has been compounded by cover-up. Last week, we learned the government had used a superinjunction to hide the fact of the special forces data leak, the secret transport of potentially endangered Afghans to the UK, and the possible £7bn bill of the resettlement programme.

Six weeks ago,