motivation given for each of those men to lie was utterly implausible as a motivation to invent such serious untruths.
480 The respondents submit, correctly in my view, that although the witnesses' evidence did not accord in all respects, it is a coherent and plausible account of two Afghan men being in the tunnel.
481 First, all of the respondents' witnesses who were present say that after the tunnel was discovered, many SASR operators trained their weapons on the entrance to the tunnel. Person 41 said that he recalled standing around with Persons 29 and 35. Person 42 recalled the complete patrol (i.e., Person 29's patrol) being present when he first entered the courtyard. Person 42 recalled Persons 35 and 38 at the time he looked into the tunnel, but said that "the people around me and exactly who they were is not the focus. The focus is the threat in the tunnel". Person 43 recalled Person 35 being on his right, but could not recall anybody else. He was "focussed on the hole".
482 The respondents submit that the fact that different witnesses recall different people does not mean that they are providing inconsistent accounts. It simply means that of all of the people present, individual witnesses recall different individuals. The respondents submit that, in any event, to the extent that a witness may have misremembered the identity of an individual, that is unexceptionable in circumstances where the tunnel was a newly discovered threat. The respondents submit that the presence of so many people makes Person 41's recollection that he perceived that he was not required and, therefore, left to search another area, particularly plausible.
483 Secondly, all of the respondents' witnesses who were present recall a callout taking place. The respondents submit that while only some of those witnesses recall an interpreter being involved in the callout, none positively denied it.
484 Person 40 recalled an interpreter essentially doing callouts. The interpreter was speaking Farsi. In cross-examination, Person 40 said that an interpreter was present at W108 and that he heard that person speaking Farsi and then later, Person 40 said, speaking an Afghan dialect. Somebody was speaking to the interpreter who relayed whatever it was in an Afghan dialect. Person 40 could not remember who was saying things to the interpreter. He remembers troop headquarters being present. He said that the two men in the tunnel were spoken to in both
