Troops cannot sell stories
2007-04-09 19:27
London - Britain's defence secretary announced on Monday that military personnel have been banned from selling their stories to the media, after his department was heavily criticised for allowing 15 sailors held by Iran last month to accept payment for interviews.
Des Browne said the Royal Navy had "not reached a satisfactory outcome" in its decision on whether to allow the 14 men and one woman held by Tehran for two weeks to financially benefit from their media interaction, though he acknowledged it was a "very tough call."
The row erupted over the weekend after the defence ministry made the unusual decision to permit the group to strike deals with newspapers and broadcasters, saying there were "exceptional circumstances."
It later emerged that 26-year-old mother-of-one Faye Turney, the public face of the crisis, had reportedly received around 100 000 pounds for interviews with The Sun tabloid and commercial broadcaster ITV.
Newspaper reports suggested the group could make up to 250 000 pounds between them. Turney's interview with ITV is set to air later on Monday.
Nnot reached a satisfactory outcome
In his first comments on the controversy, Browne, who was aware of the original decision, said that until officials have "clear guidance for the future ... no further service personnel will be allowed to talk to the media about their experiences in return for payment."
"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."
Attacks on the ministry and the 15 mariners mounted following the publication of Turney's account in Monday's Sun tabloid, while the Daily Mirror carried an interview with 20-year-old Arthur Batchelor, the youngest of the group.
Earlier, the Second Sea Lord Vice-Admiral Adrian Johns told the BBC that a review would be launched to ensure regulations were consistent across all the military forces, following suggestions the head of the army told soldiers they would not be allowed to sell their stories.
Even one of the officers in charge of the seized naval personnel said he found the situation "a little unsavoury" as some of the freed sailors began recounting their grim ordeals for large payments.
Opposition politicians accused the Labour Party government of hitting a new propaganda low as a media debate raged as to whether the sailors and marines should have been allowed to speak.
In the ITV interview, Turney commented that she had been "offered a hell of a lot of money for my story" and that she had not taken "the biggest offer."
Royal Navy Lieutenant Felix Carman said he and Royal Marines Captain Chris Air, the two officers in the group, were not accepting money for their stories.
Could set her up for life
"I personally find the subject (of payment) a bit unsavoury, but I don't begrudge people who have been through an awful ordeal making a bit of money out of this," Carman told GMTV television.
"In the case of Faye Turney, she has a young daughter and the money could set her up for life."
Tellingly, Kelvin MacKenzie, The Sun's editor during its sensationalist heyday in the 1980s, said he would not have chased the sailors' stories and accused government "idiots" of making a "catastrophic error."
"Curiously enough I don't think I'd touch it with a barge pole," he told BBC radio.
Lord Michael Heseltine, a former British defence secretary and deputy prime minister, said he had "never heard anything so appalling" as ordinary troops earning little money while those captured earned a small fortune.
Turney, who became the public face of the crisis, spoke in her interview with The Sun of how she feared rape and execution, was stripped to her underwear, lied to about the other detainees and was told she might never see her three-year-old daughter again.
Batchelor told the Mirror of how he was similarly stripped, and an interrogator indicated that if he did not co-operate he would not see his family. It was unclear if he was paid for his interview.
The group were captured on March 23. Britain maintains they were in Iraqi waters carrying out anti-smuggling operations under a United Nations mandate. Iran insists they were in its waters.
The sailors were freed and flew home Thursday.
Sally Veck, whose daughter Eleanor Dlugosz, 19, was among four Britons killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq last week, told The Times newspaper it was a "terrible shame" that some of the freed captives had sold their tales.
"If you are a member of the military ... you should do your duty and not expect to make money by selling stories," she said.
- SAPA