Soldier 'sliced off fingers of dead Taliban fighters as souvenirs' - Telegraph.co.uk

Sir Richard told The Daily Telegraph: "If true, it's quite outrageous and I've never heard of anything like that before. I'm absolutely shocked.

"It's an extremely damaging allegation to have made. The potential damage (to the Afghanistan operation) is huge. The allegation in itself is damaging even if not true because it has been published.

"The Army does not tolerate in any shape or form that kind of activity and will investigate swiftly and thoroughly."

He said one of the "core values" of the Army is that enemy soldiers, dead or alive, are treated with respect.

The MoD refused to comment in detail or to confirm whether any soldier has been suspended.

A spokesman said: "This is a very serious allegation and it would be wrong for us to comment. An investigation is ongoing."

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, known as 5 Scots and based in Canterbury, Kent, were on their second tour of duty in Afghanistan as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade.

They took over the running of the Helmand Police training centre, where 4,000 recruits are put through intensive eight-week courses.

One company from the battalion was also attached to the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, on combat duties. There is no information on which company the soldier came from.

Clive Fairweather, a former SAS commander and honorary colonel of the Argylls' Cadet Force, said he was "baffled and shocked" by the accusations.

"I've never come across anything like this in my 34 years of service. Taking trophies from dead combatants is a sure fire way to provoke anger in the local population," he said.

"This is one of the taboos of the military. There's not that many, but this is one of them."