Naik and Khak Khuday Dad villages. Hager and Stephenson's book attracted considerable media coverage and commentary in New Zealand. University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis opined that Operation Burnham damaged the NZDF's trust and credibility. Left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury supported Hager and Stephenson's assertions that New Zealand forces had committed war crimes. The conservative blogger Matthew Hooton, Amnesty International New Zealand's Executive Director Grant Bayldon, and Fairfax political editor Tracey Watkins supported calls for an independent inquiry into New Zealand war crimes. The-then Prime Minister Bill English rejected calls for an inquiry into NZSAS actions on the grounds of inaccuracies in Hit & Run. In August 2017, the Afghan villagers' three lawyers took the New Zealand Government to court over its refusal to hold an inquiry into Operation Burnham. Following the formation of a new Labour-New Zealand First-Greens coalition government after the 2017 general election, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Defence Minister Ron Mark announced in early November that they would hold an inquiry into the allegations raised by Hit & Run. On 13 March 2018, the New Zealand Defence Force confirmed that the location of an Afghan village mentioned in the book Hit & Run was the same place where the NZSAS raid Operation Burnham took place but maintained that claims of civilian casualties were "unfounded." On 19 March, the NZDF confirmed that the photos published in Hit & Run were taken in the same location where Operation Burnham had taken place. On 9 April 2018, the Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier ruled in favour of the New Zealand Defense Force's decision to withhold most of the information relating to Operation Burnham. On 11 April, Attorney-General David Parker announced that the Government would be holding an inquiry into Operation Burnham and the allegations in Hit & Run. IGIS Reference Group On 16 April 2018, Nicky Hager was appointed as a member of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security's Reference Group, an advisory group of journalists, lawyers, academics, and advocates that would scrutinise the legality of the actions of New Zealand's intelligence agencies, the NZSIS and GCSB. Hager's appointment was criticised by the National Party's GCSB and NZSIS spokesperson Gerry Brownlee, who pointed to his previous criticism of the NZSIS. Personal life Hager lives in Wellington in a house that he built from parts of demolished houses with money inherited from his parents. Bibliography Secret Power, New Zealand's Role