Catalogue description Committee of Privy Counsellors on the Recruitment of Mercenaries: Report

The Committee of Privy Counsellors Appointed to Inquire into the Recruitment of Mercenaries was appointed by the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, on 16 February 1976 and consisted of Lord Diplock, Sir Derek Walker-Smith MP and Sir Geoffrey De Freitas MP, published in August 1976.

It was set up as a Committee of Inquiry following the war in Angola, for which some 160 men were recruited in the United Kingdom to serve with the forces of the FNLA against the MPLA. Advertisements placed in the national press inviting applications from ex-servicemen for 'interesting work abroad' received wide publicity in certain newspapers, thus drawing attention to the purpose for which volunteers were being sought and the method of contacting the organisers of the recruiting campaign. The initial recruits were aware that they were being engaged in a combatant roll but some later recruits subsequently claimed that they understood that they would not be required to take part in combat unless they volunteered to do so. Active recruiting ended after the massacre of a number of British mercenaries by their own side in Africa.

The terms of reference given to the Committee were:'In the light of recent events, to consider whether sufficient control exists over the recruitment of United Kingdom citizens for service as mercenaries; to consider the need for legislation, including possible amendment of the Foreign Enlistment Act; and to make recommendations.'