|
|
Translate:
              No 10 is accused of masterminding sale of hostages’ stories
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007
Tony Blair has been dragged into the “cash for hostages” fiasco as he is accused of allowing the Iran captives to sell their stories as part of a crude Government spin operation. General Sir Michael Rose, one of Britain’s most respected former Army officers, said he was convinced the decision to allow 15 sailors and Marines held captive in Iran to cash in on their ordeals had been driven by the Prime Minister’s office. MPs from all sides of the Commons said they too suspected a deliberate strategy aimed at hitting back at Iran, widely seen to have won the “propaganda war” during the detainees’ time in captivity. Downing Street has confirmed that the Prime Minister was notified of the decision, but yesterday repeatedly refused to say when. In an ominous development for Defence Secretary Des Browne, Number Ten appeared to be attempting to lay the blame for the debacle firmly at the door of the Ministry of Defence. Leading Seaman Turney was not among the captives who appeared at an open-to-all Ministry of Defence press conference on Friday - prompting suspicions that she was “held back” to increase the value and impact of her story. In the end, she did a deal with the Labour-supporting Sun newspaper, which has close links to Downing Street, and ITV’s Tonight with Trevor Macdonald programme. Mr Browne is expected to be hauled before MPs on Monday to answer questions about why Mrs Turney and another captive, Arthur Batchelor, were allowed to hawk their stories for enormous sums. In the past, the Queen’s Regulations, which govern the behaviour of personnel, have been understood to ban chequebook interviews. MoD officials claimed Mr Browne had been asked to “note” the Navy’s different interpretation of the rules, rather than approve it. But Sir Michael, who led the UN force in Bosnia, said: “In my view, the decision to treat the returning hostages as heroes from the outset can only have come from Downing Street - for I cannot believe that any Service chief would have signed up to a policy that is so ultimately damaging to the military ethos. “There would, however, be a clear political advantage for Blair, who had so evidently mishandled the initial diplomatic situation, and who had been continually outmanoeuvred by President Ahmadinejad throughout the crisis, to receive the returnees as heroes.” The Tories blamed “ministerial incompetence” for the controversy, accusing Labour of putting spin before the “dignity, professionalism and discipline” of the Armed Forces. And former Labour defence minister Peter Kilfoyle accused ministers of shirking responsibility for a decision that “beggared belief” and had made Britain’s Armed Forces a “laughing stock” around the world. “What you cannot get away from is that responsibility rests with ministers,” he said. Former Tory Defence Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said both the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary must now spell out clearly their involvement in the affair. “If Mr Blair was indeed aware of it, it shows his judgement was just as poor as Des Browne’s,” he said. “I think we can safely assume that if these soldiers and Marines had been in any way critical of the Ministry of Defence or the Government, they would not have been given permission to give these interviews.” Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of the Sun, also hinted at political involvement. “I know that David Hill (Mr Blair’s director of communications) was whistling round newspaper offices last week asking editors if they needed help with their editorials in relation to the freeing of the 15 - ie that you must get over the sense that Tony Blair had had a major triumph,” he said. Air Marshal Sir John Walker, former chief of Defence Intelligence, demanded to know who was responsible for the “divisive decision” to allow the personnel to sell their stories. He said allowing them to do so had been “profoundly damaging” and smacked of a “knee-jerk effort to get column inches”. The head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has also let it be known he was appalled by the decision. Education Secretary Alan Johnson - favourite to become Labour’s next deputy leader - admitted it had been “wrong” to allow military personnel to take money. A ban has been hastily imposed on any more paid interviews, pending a review. Mr Johnson said: “Des Browne is a very good Secretary of State. This is not an issue that should call into question his job. “These things happen in government when there’s a short time-span. Very quick decisions have to be made. “We actually think some of these decisions were the wrong decisions, which is why we are revising them to ensure we don’t set any dangerous precedent.” The permission granted by ministers also led to a “heated” squabble over money among the hostages, it is understood. A bitter argument raged between the Royal Marines of the group, who suggested equally sharing the spoils of any media fees, and the Navy sailors, who wanted to keep the cash. A military source said: “The Marines were firmly of the view that whatever money they got should be shared out equally, in the traditional spirit of military comradeship. But the sailors wanted to keep anything they earned. “Someone stood up and suggested to Faye Turney she should share the money, but she didn’t want that. It was a very heated discussion, to put it mildly.” Mrs Turney has pledged to give “a percentage” of her fee to the crew of her ship, HMS Cornwall, and place the rest in a trust fund for her three-year-old daughter Molly. She is presently on compassionate leave, but her future in the Navy appears far from certain. One senior military source said: “It is gong to be very difficult for her when she returns to work. “If you’re in the Army or Navy, the people in your unit are your second family. You work together, fight together, socialise together. You don’t stab them in the back by walking off with a load of money.” An entry on the Army Rumour Service said: “I imagine there are servicewomen up and down the country with mouths agape at this walking embarrassment to her cap badge.” Another contributor wrote: “I dare not watch it (Turney’s interview) as the TV would be out the window. She has set back the reputation of servicewomen everywhere.” Navy chiefs are also said to be smarting at the almost universal condemnation. The First Sea Lord Sir Jonathon Band is under intense pressure to explain what part he played in the damaging strategy. A spokesman for Mr Blair insisted: “This was a decision taken by the Navy. What’s now important is to look into the issues in the round. I’m not going to get into the process of who knew what when.” Have Your Say: No 10 is accused of masterminding sale of hostages’ stories Please read our posting guidelines before posting. Alternatively you can discuss this report here. Related News
|
Prophetic Signs that we are in the End Times Last post by StuartG @ 11:41 PM Go to Forum
| Latest Topics
Are we set to go the way of Lemuria? Last post by StuartG @ 11:15 PM Icke. Conspiracy & Anti-Semitism Last post by StuartG @ 10:11 PM Three Steps To Save Jobs Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:57 PM Mumbai massacre: War threats will only fuel terror Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:57 PM Unions and activists beat back the BNP Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:56 PM Democracy crisis shakes Thailand Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:56 PM Welfare reform will risk increase in childhood poverty Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:56 PM How workers resist recession Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:56 PM Neocons love Obama Last post by Thinking Man's Idiot @ 08:44 PM  Email This Page To A Friend Latest Headlines
More World News  Archive
|
The views expressed in the RINF news wire and newsletter are the sole responsibility of the author (s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the webmaster. RINF.COM: Breaking News & Alternative Media is Copyleft - Copy & Distribute Freely. News Forum |
Loading ...
