"A very tough call" - Des Browne makes statement on media payments to Service personnel

Speaking on Monday 9 April 2007, and following the return of 15 Royal Navy personnel from detention by Iranian authorities, Des Browne said:

"I recognise the dilemma that faced the Royal Navy last week.

"The Naval officers who had the responsibility of looking after the young people detained in Iran saw that the pressure on them and their families made it inevitable that some of them would accept media offers to tell their story in return for payment.

"The dilemma facing the Navy was this; should they refuse to give them permission to accept payment, recognising that some of them would find ways to tell their experiences anyway, without the support and advice of their service, and therefore with greater risk to themselves and crucially also at risk to operational security? Or should the Navy accept that in this particular and exceptional case, and in the modern media environment, they should give permission for these young people to tell their story precisely in order to stay close to them but accepting the consequence of the potential payment involved?

"Many strong views on this have been expressed but I hope people will understand that this was a very tough call, and that the Navy had a duty to support its people.

"Nevertheless 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.

"This morning we announced a review of the regulations governing this area, looking at, among other things, the consistency of the regulations across the services, their clarity and, more broadly, whether the regulations are right for the modern media environment. I want to be sure those charged with these difficult decisions have clear guidance for the future.

"Until that time, no further service personnel will be allowed to talk to the media about their experiences in return for payment."