Injunction blocking publication of ex-SAS soldier’s book on counter-terror op extended

An injunction currently blocking publication has been extended following a request by the Ministry of Defence.

The restriction on releasing the book remains in effect until the government succeeds in resolving its legal proceedings against the author, known only by the pseudonym Christian Craighead.

Craighead earned the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his role in responding to an al-Shabaab attack in Nairobi in 2019, an incident resulting in twenty-one deaths.

He claimed that he rescued over seven hundred people from a Nairobi hotel complex after a Militant group launched an assault.

While the work has already been published in the United States, legal experts argue that the overseas availability stems primarily from alleged misconduct by the defendant rather than the nature of the book itself.

The Ministry of Defence asserts that the proposed memoir involves a breach of a confidentiality contract the soldier signed upon joining the UK’s special forces.

An interim order was granted this month, with government barristers slated to return to the high court on Thursday to seek further duration of the ban.

Mr Justice Saini ruled that Craighead voluntarily entered into the contract and had been repeatedly instructed by superior authority that publication would not be permitted.

The judge concluded the defence could not meet its burden of proof, describing the alleged breach as clear and indisputable.

Recorded statements indicated that Craighead remained absent from the courtroom without legal representation.

In his judgment, the lawyer for the National Defence described the officer as having directly contravened a solemn undertaking binding him for life not to reveal secret operations unless given explicit written authorization by the Ministry, which he later asserted was never provided for this manuscript.

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