British Defence Secretary bans troops selling stories

Britain's defence secretary announced Monday that military personnel have been banned from selling their stories to the media, after his department was slammed for permitting 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 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." The ban will not be enforced retroactively.

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 (147,000 euros, 196,000 dollars) for interviews with The Sun tabloid, published Monday, and commercial broadcaster ITV, which aired its broadcast Monday evening.

Newspaper reports suggested the group could make up to 250,000 pounds between them.

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 sailors and marines mounted following the publication of Turney's account in The Sun, 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.

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.

"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.

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.

Turney, who became the public face of the crisis, spoke in her interviews with The Sun and ITV of how she was forced to strip to her underpants by her captors, feared rape and execution and felt like a "traitor" when she signed "confession" letters.

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.

Much of the British press was left unimpressed by the controversy, with The Guardian writing in a scathing editorial that it was unsure "whose judgement should we criticise first when there are so many candidates jostling for censure?"

"Step forward the Defence Secretary Des Browne, who ... was shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted."

"Nor is there much cause for pride in the performance of the hostages, who are apparently trained to resist a ruthless enemy but, in some cases, have surrendered to (media baron) Rupert Murdoch even faster than they gave in to their Iranian interrogators."