Dominic Grieve QC

Mr Grieve, who served as the UK government’s senior law officer for four years under David Cameron, said a “serious problem” was emerging between the government and the judiciary.

He was responding to a report that a High Court judge has ordered Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to explain why evidence of an alleged murder spree by an SAS team was suppressed.

The Sunday Times reported that crucial emails were withheld from legal proceedings brought on behalf of an Afghan man. New information came to light after it emerged that the government had misled the High Court, according to the newspaper.

The Government Legal Department had said there were no complaints about the killings at the time but the withheld documents contradicted this claim.

Mr Grieve told The Times: “It is impossible to tell from the report at what level a problem with disclosure by government lawyers would have arisen.

“However, there is a potentially serious problem more broadly.

“The government is supposed to litigate with clean hands. But there is increasing disquiet among the judiciary that is damaging that trust.”