Men were part of British and Allied forces present in what was then the Trucial States to protect the area against threats from Nazi Germany and its allies
New report finds numerous examples from the 1940s to 80s when ministers would usually tell parliament about UK special forces.
Extreme secrecy allows prime ministers to covertly deploy UK forces abroad and bypass parliamentary scrutiny
British government ministers were willing to give Parliament more information about the UK military’s special forces during World War 2 and the “end of empire” than they do today, new research reveals.
Ministers currently claim to have a “long-standing policy” of not commenting on Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS) when asked by MPs for basic details of its operations.
The special forces, which consist of several thousand personnel, are believed to be involved in eight covert wars abroad, including Yemen and Mali, and have a multibillion-pound budget.