Browne faces fall out from sailors row

Browne was forced into last minute ban on interviews

Tuesday, 10, Apr 2007 12:00

The government's indecisive handling of the Iran hostage crisis lost public sympathy for the 15 personnel taken captive, the Conservatives have claimed.

Following criticism of the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) decision to allow some of the sailors to sell their story – and defence secretary Des Browne's last minute decision to ban future deals – opposition politicians have criticised the government's handling of the sailor's return.

The Conservatives claimed the whole situation had been handled "appallingly" and the MoD should now confirm who was responsible for the mixed messages emerging from the department and why.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: "The MoD has managed to lose public sympathy for our sailors and marines, cause division within the ranks of the armed forces and serving members of the armed forces have, in effect, been put up for auction in the most horribly undignified fashion, something that has not gone unnoticed overseas.

The MoD originally defended some of the 15 sailors' decision to sell their stories to the media. Following intense criticism it was forced to launch an investigation into the practice and later in the same day Mr Browne announced a complete ban pending the conclusion of this investigation.

Mr Browne defended the sailors' actions, citing their "exceptional" circumstances and the modern media environment. But he said a review was necessary to ensure there were "clear guidelines" 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," he ordered.

Having already criticised the handling of the sailors' return, the Liberal Democrats said the last minute U-turn was a further mishandling on the part of the MoD.

"The review of procedures and ban are welcome but Des Browne's announcement is clearly a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted," said Lib Dem defence spokesman Nick Harvey.

He continued: "There is a story to be told about what happened to the sailors and marines in Iran, but the release of this information should have been co-ordinated by the MoD.

"Leaving the returned captives to handle the pressures of the media alone was a dereliction of the MoD's duty."

The criticism came as commentators are still trying to establish who emerged as the 'winner' between Iran and the UK.

Following the theatrical release of the 15 sailors, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the country had joined the 'nuclear club' and is now capable of enriching nuclear fuel "on an industrial scale".

The US says it is "very concerned" at Mr Ahmadinejad's announcement and is sceptical of Tehran's repeated claims it is not planning to develop nuclear weapons.

"Iran continues to defy the international community and further isolate itself by expanding its nuclear program, rather than suspending uranium enrichment," a White House spokesman said.