SAS clerk's 'shame' over profits

A finance clerk accused of stealing from the SAS cried in court as he told how he made the cash from selling alcohol to soldiers serving in Iraq.

Staff Sgt Mark McKay, 35, of Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, denies stealing $200,000 (about £100,000) from the SAS headquarters in Hereford.

He was arrested after money was found in plant pots outside his home.

He told Bulford Military Court the cash was earned "legitimately" but was "ashamed" by the huge profits he made.

The court martial heard how Mr McKay made profits on selling everything from alcohol, toiletries and cigarettes to Viagra.

Cases of beer

He said that during his three-month deployment to Iraq with the SAS from February to May 2003 he made a total of $371,000 (about £186,000) in addition to doing his official clerical duties.

Mr McKay said he sold the goods to the 5,000 US, 70 Australian and 200 British troops posted to the base where he was staying, in a "country bordering Iraq".

He was one of only several people allowed off the base for non-operational reasons, and he said he used that opportunity to buy items with his own money in a nearby city and then sell them on.

Mr McKay said he would buy cases of beer for $20 (about £10) and then sell them on for about $100 (about £50).

I felt ashamed at having made the money and I felt guilty Staff Sgt Mark McKay

In total he made about $3,000 (£1,502) profits at the end of the first week, and about $32,000 (£16,028) by week six, he told the court martial.

He returned home from the Gulf with £50,000 in sterling notes, some Iraqi currency and $200,000 (about £100,000), which he stashed in a safe in Hereford before taking it to Northern Ireland and hiding it in plant pots there, the father-of-two added.

When military police searched his home and discovered the cash in April 2006, Mr McKay told them it was surplus money left over from the SAS's Gulf War account.

'Enjoyed the rush'

Mr McKay told the hearing on Thursday he had "lied" to police because at the time he "could not face telling the truth" about how much he had made from his ventures in Iraq.

He said it was also because people who served with the SAS were "not allowed to say anything about what goes on" and was also hiding the cash from his wife, who he was breaking up with at the time.

In tears, Mr McKay said: "I felt ashamed at having made the money and I felt guilty.

"I hated having it.

"I enjoyed the rush and the adrenaline of making the money and there are certain points when you reflect on your life, and there's me earning money while people are living in a war zone."

He said when he went to Northern Ireland he felt "embarrassed" about what had happened.

The case continues.