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Sailors' story answers demanded Sailors' story answers demanded
(about 1 hour later)
Ministers have come under renewed pressure over allowing British sailors freed by Iran to sell their stories.Ministers have come under renewed pressure over allowing British sailors freed by Iran to sell their stories.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the decision had undermined the reputation of Britain's armed forces.Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said the decision had undermined the reputation of Britain's armed forces.
He stopped short of calling for Des Browne's resignation but said the defence secretary's statement to MPs on Monday would be "very, very important". And an ex-Navy officer has started a petition on the Downing Street website calling for the person responsible to be named and sacked.
Mr Browne has said he took full responsibility for the navy's decision to allow the stories to be sold. Mr Browne has said he was not "content" with the navy's decision but felt he had no choice but to back it.
He said he had been asked on Friday to "note" the decision and even though he was not "content" with it, he felt he had little choice but to give it his blessing, following analysis of the rules.
"Clearly with hindsight... I could have made a different decision," the defence secretary said on Wednesday."Clearly with hindsight... I could have made a different decision," the defence secretary said on Wednesday.
Prime minister Tony Blair has said allowing the sailors to sell their story to the media was not a "good idea" but said he had not been involved in the decision.
Mr Hague said the accounts given by the prime minister and Mr Browne had left the impression "we have not got the full picture".
'Very odd''Very odd'
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "very odd" that Downing Street had not been more closely involved "in a very centralised administration where number 10 is routinely consulted by all departments". Prime minister Tony Blair has said allowing the sailors to sell their story to the media was not a "good idea" but said he had not been involved in the decision.
But Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "very odd" that Downing Street had not been more closely involved "in a very centralised administration where number 10 is routinely consulted by all departments".
He added: "The relationship of Downing Street to this decision has not yet really been established."
I want everyone out there to know my story from my side, see what I went through Leading Seaman Faye Turney Captive 'felt like a traitor' Stories sale criticism grows Tories slam decisionI want everyone out there to know my story from my side, see what I went through Leading Seaman Faye Turney Captive 'felt like a traitor' Stories sale criticism grows Tories slam decision
"The relationship of Downing Street to this decision has not yet really been established." Former Army public relations chief Lord Ramsbotham also told the BBC: "My experience is that everything was referred to number 10 of some magnitude like this."
And he said more questions should be asked about what safeguards had been put in place after a similar incident in 2004 when British servicemen were seized by Iran in the Shatt al-Arab waterway. Mr Hague said allowing the sailors to sell their story had "shattered political unity" on Britain's policy towards Iran and "cut across" a Royal Navy inquiry into how the sailors were captured.
'Serious failing' Satisfactory answers
He said the decision had "shattered political unity" on Britain's policy towards Iran and "cut across" a Royal Navy inquiry into how the sailors were captured. He stopped short of calling for Des Browne's resignation but said that might change if the defence secretary did not provide satisfactory answers in his statement on Monday.
"Before we have the results of any of that, we have stories being sold to the newspapers. "We need to know after that statement - we need to be able to assess - whether he commands the confidence of the people working under his political direction in the armed forces."
"So all of these things wrapped up in one decision: it's quite a serious ministerial failing," he told Today. Cpt Chris Air and Lt Felix Carman say they do not intend to profit
Mr Hague suggested he would be calling for Des Browne's resignation if the defence secretary failed to provide satisfactory answers in his statement to MPs.
"The statement that Des Browne is going to make in the Commons on Monday is very, very important.
"We need to know after that statement - we need to be able to assess - whether he commands the confidence of the people working under his political direction in the armed forces and whether he's given satisfactory answers to these questions."
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was unlikely Mr Browne would be sacked, because the prime minister, who is expected to resign after the May elections, was "not in a position to hire or fire anybody right now".BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was unlikely Mr Browne would be sacked, because the prime minister, who is expected to resign after the May elections, was "not in a position to hire or fire anybody right now".
But, he added, the defence secretary may no longer be considered a "safe pair of hands" when it came to future Cabinet reshuffles.But, he added, the defence secretary may no longer be considered a "safe pair of hands" when it came to future Cabinet reshuffles.
Full inquiry Meanwhile, former Navy officer Mike Critchley, of Warship World magazine, has started a petition on the Downing Street website calling for Mr Blair to "name and sack" the person responsible for the decision.
Tory leader David Cameron responded to Mr Browne's comments by saying there should be a full Ministry of Defence inquiry, to allow lessons to be learned. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats say more questions need to be answered about what safeguards had been put in place after a similar incident in 2004 when British servicemen were seized by Iran in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
He said the government's "cheap and tatty" focus on short-term headlines could cause long-term damage to the armed forces, and the buck stopped with the prime minister. 'Bigger questions'
Chris Huhne, for the Liberal Democrats, said the armed forces wanted capable and competent leadership, but it had been a "complete mess up". Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, Nick Harvey, told the BBC: "I think the government might be quite pleased that everybody's attention is focused on this issue of media handling and that some of the far bigger questions... have been rather conveniently left behind in the stampede."
Only two of the 15 captured Navy personnel sold their stories.
Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest of the British sailors to be held captive, told the Daily Mirror about his "nightmare" at the hands of his captors.Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest of the British sailors to be held captive, told the Daily Mirror about his "nightmare" at the hands of his captors.
I'm sorry, welcome home, but you signed on the dotted line like all the rest. I am appalled - have some dignity Message on Rum Ration website
And Leading Seaman Faye Turney sold her story to ITV1's Tonight with Trevor Macdonald and the Sun newspaper - reportedly for a six-figure sum, some of which will go to navy families.And Leading Seaman Faye Turney sold her story to ITV1's Tonight with Trevor Macdonald and the Sun newspaper - reportedly for a six-figure sum, some of which will go to navy families.
There has been a mixed response to the decision on websites used by members of the armed forces, with some supporting the sailors' decision to sell their story and others condemning it.
One contributor to Rum Ration, an unofficial Navy website, wrote: "It is simply shocking - get captured and you make five times the average sailor's salary in one story. I'm sorry, welcome home, but you signed on the dotted line like all the rest. I am appalled - have some dignity."
The Royal Navy crew were on patrol boats in the Gulf on 23 March when they were detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard - the Iranians said they had strayed into its waters, which the British deny.The Royal Navy crew were on patrol boats in the Gulf on 23 March when they were detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard - the Iranians said they had strayed into its waters, which the British deny.