A UK court has extended an order stopping former SAS soldier Christian Craighead from publishing his account of the 2019 DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi. Craighead was among those involved in the security response after Al-Shabaab militants attacked the DusitD2 complex at 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi on January 15, 2019. The assault left 21 people dead, while Craighead has said his intervention helped more than 700 people escape from the hotel and office complex.
Craighead later wrote a book, One Man In, describing his experiences during the Nairobi attack and other parts of his career in the SAS. The publication was not cleared by the British government, which objected to its release in the UK on grounds linked to the confidentiality obligations he had accepted as a special forces member. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says Craighead had agreed to keep information about his service confidential and could only disclose such material after receiving written permission.
During the latest proceedings in London, the MoD argued that Craighead had knowingly gone against the agreement. The MoD's lawyer, Oliver Sanders KC, told the court that Craighead had breached the contract, a claim that was "straightforward and really unarguable". The book has already been released in the United States, but the MoD maintains that its publication there does not alter its position.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Saini said Craighead had "willingly entered into" the agreement and had been "clearly and consistently told by his superiors" that publication of the book would not be allowed. The judge found that Craighead appeared to have committed a "flagrant breach" of the agreement, which he did "having his eyes open to the potential consequences".
Craighead joined the British armed forces in 1992 and later served with the special forces from 2006 until 2020. According to evidence previously presented to the court, he signed a confidentiality agreement when he joined the special forces that restricted him from revealing information about his service. The agreement described his commitment as a "solemn undertaking binding me for the rest of my life" not to disclose information relating to his special forces service without "express prior authority in writing" from the MoD.
The latest ruling is not Craighead's first legal battle with the MoD over the book. He challenged the ministry in 2023 after it refused to permit publication, but lost the case after the British government raised national security concerns. Although the book remains blocked in Britain, it has been published in the United States, where Craighead has also spoken publicly about his account of the Nairobi attack.
The extended court order will remain in force as the wider legal dispute between Craighead and the MoD continues. Craighead's role in the response to the DusitD2 attack later earned him the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, a British military award given for exceptional bravery in the face of the enemy.
Key points
- The UK court extended an order stopping ex-SAS soldier Christian Craighead from publishing his book on the 2019 DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi.
- Craighead had signed a confidentiality agreement when he joined the special forces that restricted him from revealing information about his service.
- The book, One Man In, has already been published in the United States, but remains blocked in Britain due to the court's ruling.
