MoD defends crew story sale move

The Ministry of Defence has defended the decision to allow the 15 sailors and marines held captive in Iran to sell their stories to the media.

The MoD said that the move would allow officials to have "sight" of what was to be said.

The comments come after the decision was questioned by former military chiefs and criticised by families of servicemen who have died in Iraq.

A statement from the MoD said: "It was clear that the stories they had to tell were likely to have emerged via family and friends regardless of any decision the Navy took.

"It was therefore decided to grant permission to speak to the media to those personnel that sought it, in order to ensure that the Navy and the MoD had sight of what they were going to say as well as providing proper media support to the sailors and Marines in the same way as would have been the case in more ordinary circumstances."

Among those who stand to benefit from the move is Leading Seaman Faye Turney - the only woman among the 15.

According to reports in the Sunday Times and the Sunday Telegraph, she has now sold her story to ITV1's Tonight with Trevor McDonald show and a newspaper for a sum in excess of £100,000.

The decision has caused unease from some who have lost loved ones in the Gulf and others in military circles.

Mike Aston, whose 30-year-old son Corporal Russell Aston was one of six military policemen killed by a mob in Majar al-Kabir, Iraq, in June 2003, said he was "absolutely amazed" by the Ministry of Defence's decision.

Rose Gentle, whose son 19-year-old Fusilier Gordon Gentle was killed in Basra in June 2004, told the Sunday Times: "This is wrong and I don't think it should be allowed by the MoD. None of the parents who have lost loved ones in Iraq have sold their stories."