The British army has never faced more serious allegations of wrongdoing; that the SAS committed multiple war crimes in Afghanistan. A public inquiry is beginning to reveal a troubling picture of UK special forces beyond the control of their military and political bosses.

In Kabul, the Taliban’s takeover was assured. In London, an ignominious retreat, and the betrayal of former comrades in the Afghan army, was more than a group of ex-soldiers, now MPs, could stomach...

As the Taliban closed in on Kabul, and Western troops and desperate Afghans scrambled to leave, Britain found itself frozen out of decision making and incapable of influencing events. It was a stark illustration of the UK’s status, made worse by catastrophic misjudgements at the top of government. In this two-part Slow Newscast, Matthew d’Ancona investigates what was happening in Westminster and Whitehall as the West abandoned the country it had liberated 20 years before.