Moreover, hundreds of Iraqis detained during the Iraq War revealed that British soldiers tortured them, with some being awarded compensation by the UK, or agreeing to settle out of court. However, nothing substantial took place in terms of accountability, despite the ICC finding that indeed war crimes had been committed by British soldiers in Iraq.
A slush fund for terrorists in Syria (2011 - )
As for Britain's most recent adventure, investigative journalists from Declassified UK were able to uncover that the UK has funded terrorists aiming for regime change in Syria, with 350 million pounds being spent in the years from 2016 to 2021 alone.
Although the UK has refused to say which opposition groups it has aided in Syria, the documents reveal that this huge slush fund was directed toward areas where terrorist groups were prevalent. Perhaps more astonishingly, the project's launch coincided with the resurgence of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham.
UK intelligence agencies were also found to have been funding the same opposition groups as Swedish national Bherlin Gildo, who was on trial on charges of terrorism.
Moreso, the report says that "the figure of £350-million is an underestimate since it does not include activities financed from the UK’s so-called 'black budget', including intelligence operations."
Britain's involvement in massacres, atrocities, and war crimes around the world in the past 70 years is there for all to see. However, the extent of Britain's involvement, and how much it has been able to cover up over the years remains a mystery.
Elizabeth's Britain isn't a story of human rights, development, and a change in the course of British history. If anything, it is merely an extension of Britain's colonial, imperialist past, albeit under a new guise.
Part 5 - End