Christian Craighead -the pseudonym of a former
special forces soldier of the British Army- was decorated for bravery for his
part in rescuing many people during a terrorist attack by Islamists in Kenya in
2019. However, his attempt to have a book about the incident published in
Britain was opposed by the government on the grounds of a confidentiality
clause in his contract of employment. Craighead lost a legal challenge to the
decision and in subsequent interviews has claimed that the state’s opposition
to his memoir is predicated on the mentality of a self-hating British elite who
favour Muslims over the indigenous British population, an outlandish claim that
does not stand up to scrutiny.
On January 15th, 2019, gunmen of the Somalian terror militia al-Shabab stormed the DusitD2 hotel complex in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. The operation began with a bomb explosion after which the intruders began hurling grenades and firing rounds at civilians.
Craighead, who was in the country on a training mission, heard the commotion and entered the complex and along with a Slovenian member of the Diplomatic Protective Services Tactical began clearing the floors of the office and car park buildings. He is claimed to have saved up to 700 people including Kenyans, Americans and Europeans. He also killed 2 of the terrorists. A Catholic, Craighead recalls saying a “Hail Mary” prayer before entering the complex. In all 21 people died and around 30 were left critically injured with one dying almost a year later.
Craighead was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his actions. The medal is awarded to members of the British armed forces for bravery and ranks directly below the Victoria Cross and the George Cross which are the highest awards. He later sought to record his experience of the incident in a book. To do this, Craighead needed what is called an EPAW -Express Prior Authority in Writing- from the British Ministry of Defence to have his book cleared for publication.
His request was refused.
Craighead nonetheless persisted with the intention of publishing his manuscript and the British government put him on notice that it would seek to prevent its publication in the UK on the grounds that publication would breach the confidentiality clause he and others involved in sensitive work with national security implications. This includes special forces soldiers and operatives of the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Service (MI6).
He argued that since his action during the Nairobi siege was voluntarily undertaken and not conducted as part of an official SAS mission, his efforts on the day did not come under his government employment confidentiality agreement. Nor did it infringe the Official Secrets Act.
In 2023, Craighead sought to challenge the government’s decision not to grant him an EPAW by means of a judicial review, claiming that his freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Court of Human Rights was infringed. This is not an "absolute right" but a "qualified right" which can be denied in many circumstances.
The government's rationale was that publication of Craighead’s book could harm the "operational effectiveness" of the United Kingdom’s Special Forces (UKSF), harm morale in the military and damage relations between the UKSF and other states.
The substantive hearing was heard in private because "any public discussion of the lawfulness of the Defendant’s national security assessment would reveal the information which the refusal of EPAW was designed to protect, thereby defeating the object of the hearing."
Craighead lost the High Court action and was denied leave to appeal.
He has gone ahead to have the book published in the United States by Simon & Shuster. Although the government have stated that they will take action in the American courts which would mean that he would be barred from obtaining royalties from book sales.
Incredibly, part of Craighead's response in interviews undertaken since the loss of his case has been to frame government opposition to his publication as an example of wokeness gone mad. In one interview he claimed that his case represents the persecution by the ‘woke Establishment’ of a White, Christian, working-class Briton who killed Muslim terrorists.
He also believes that his association with President Donald Trump has played a part in this. Craighead now lives in America where he is a signed-up adherent to the MAGA movement. Trump heard of his exploits in Nairobi and invited him to become part of his security team in 2024.
Craighead has expressed the belief that the self-hating elite in Britain which are seeking to destroy their country tolerate Muslim rape gangs in Britain but have no tolerance for those such as him who kill Muslims.
But his arguments, designed to fit into the White identitarian narrative which pervades the MAGA and British patriots’ movements, are decidedly overly emotional and incoherent.
For one, the British government's clandestine support of extremist Islamist which have been tasked to overthrow a range of mostly secular Arab governments in West Asia and North Africa have caused much mayhem in Muslim countries. These unending "regime change" wars in countries such as Syria and Libya have cost millions of Muslim lives.
Craighead appears to be unaware that his magus, Trump, invited the self-proclaimed President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to the White House where Trump made a gift of Trump cologne to al-Sharra and perfume for al-Sharaa’s spouse. Al-Sharaa, a deputy Emir of ISIS in Iraq and then the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria shares the same Salafist-Jihadist ideology with the terrorists of al-Shabab who carried out the Nairobi attack.
To be specific both are al-Qaeda.
The claim that the re-branding of al-Nusra as HTS signified a shift from terrorism to democracy belies the fact that al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre is "Mohamed al Jolani", remained on the list of terrorist wanted by the US until just after his militia emerged to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of the sanctions-stricken Syrian state.
Trump referred to al-Sharaa, a man involved in the killing
of American soldiers in Iraq as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong
past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
To his discredit, Craighead has resorted to denying the
commission of war crimes in Afghanistan even though the Independent Inquiry relating to
Afghanistan has determined that the SAS were responsible for unlawful
killings between 2010 and 2013. Testimony and evidence presented to the inquiry
alleged that the killings of unarmed Afghan civilians -including women and
children- were covered up.
His assertion that the governing elites of the UK have "destroyed Britain" has the ring of truth. But it appears to be founded on the belief by those within the identitarian crowd who blame Muslim and non-White immigration for the maladies of the Western world.
If so, Craighead should be reminded that Muslim and non-White migrants did not create the deleterious financialised economic system which exported manufacturing abroad and has encouraged rising levels of personal debt. Neither are they responsible for low birth rates among White Britons. They are also not responsible for the endless wars embarked upon by NATO which has contributed to the migration of Muslims to the West. These wars have also contributed immensely to the huge levels of sovereign debt.
A final word.
It is worth noting that while Craighead speaks about the initial suppression of information related to Muslim rape gangs in the UK, he must surely be aware of the same British government's decades long suppression of rapes committed by British troops against Kenyan women while stationed in that country.
There is also the case of the murder of a Kenyan woman named Agnes Wanjiru in 2012. It was only after a decade of foot-dragging by the British authorities that the suspected soldier, Robert James Purkiss, was arrested in 2025 and faces extradition which he is presently contesting.
© Adeyinka Makinde (2026).
Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.
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