BRITAIN:The British government last night capitulated to a public outcry over the sale of interviews by sailors and marines detained by Iran, as it rushed through a ban on any further media deals by armed forces personnel.
With the controversy widening into accusations that the government was fostering a culture that devalued heroism and promoted instant celebrity, defence secretary Des Browne said the navy's earlier decision to let the 15 former detainees sell their stories had "not reached a satisfactory outcome".
While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the navy had applied existing regulations correctly, the head of the army, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, allowed it to be known he was unhappy about the move.
The decision to allow the sailors and marines sell their stories for sums of up to £100,000 (€147,000) was condemned by opposition politicians, families of dead services personnel and former officers. Some of the 15 have already given interviews for free.
Lord Heseltine, the Conservative former deputy prime minister and defence secretary, said, "What an extraordinary story, that people who every day take calculated risks with their lives are expected to earn relatively small sums of money while people who get themselves taken hostage, in circumstances which are worth exploring, can make a killing. I have never heard anything so appalling."
Another Tory former minister, John Redwood, condemned "a new low in the long and dispiriting history of Labour spin".
Former foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind said he was "appalled" and would demand a statement from Mr Browne when parliament returns next week. That call was endorsed by Labour MP David Crausby, a member of the defence select committee, and Liberal Democrats defence spokesman Nick Harvey.
But last night Mr Browne claimed that pressure on the 15 and their families "made it inevitable that some of them would accept media offers to tell their story in return for payment" and the navy had faced a "dilemma". He added: "Many strong views on this have been expressed, but I hope people will understand that this was a very tough call, and that the navy had a duty to support its people. Nevertheless, all of us who have been involved over the last few days recognise we have not reached a satisfactory outcome. We must learn from this."
Ian Andrews, the second most senior civilian official at the MoD, is to consult the chiefs of staff of the army, navy and air force on future guidelines.
"I want to be sure those charged with these difficult decisions have clear guidance for the future. Until that time, no further service personnel will be allowed to talk to the media about their experiences in return for payment," Mr Browne said.
Leading seaman Faye Turney, the only woman in the group, earned about £100,000 in a joint deal with the Sun and ITV1's Tonight With Trevor McDonald. Arthur Batchelor, at 20 the youngest, sold his story for a smaller sum to the Daily Mirror.
Those deals are still intact. Fourteen of the 15 had the media camped outside their families' doors for most of the crisis, the MoD said.
In her Sun interview, Faye Turney told how she was stripped to her knickers and left in a tiny cell, and that at one point she was convinced the Iranians were preparing her coffin. She was told she could confess to being in Iranian waters and go home within two weeks, or be tried for espionage and be sent to prison for "several years". Her ship, HMS Cornwall, would get a percentage of her fee, she said.
Mr Batchelor, pictured in the Mirror in the grey civilian suit given to him by the Iranians, admitted he "cried like a baby" after being blindfolded and threatened with the prospect of being shot. The Iranians had called him Mr Bean.
Lieut Felix Carman and royal marine captain Chris Air, who led the joint press conference given by six of the crew on Friday, both gave more interviews yesterday.
Lieut Carman admitted to unease about the payments so soon after the deaths of four British soldiers in Iraq. He told GMTV the money was "a bit unsavoury" but added: "I don't begrudge people who have been through an awful ordeal making a bit of money out of this."
- (Guardian service)