UK bans military from selling stories

[leobold1]

UK bans military from selling stories - CNN.com

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government has banned all military service members from talking to the media in return for payment following a storm of protests over interviews with the 15 marines and sailors who were held captive in Iran.

A defense ministry spokesman told CNN on Monday that a review was announced the day before into military personnel speaking to the media in return for payment.

While this review is ongoing, a ban is in force on all personnel from speaking to the media for payment. Effectively, personnel can still talk to the media but cannot receive money in return.

The move to ban payment for interviews is not a retrospective measure so will not affect any payments made or promised to any of the 15 military personnel, a defense ministry spokesperson told CNN on Monday.

Defense Secretary Des Browne issued a statement saying the Royal Navy faced a "very tough call" over its decision to allow the sailors to receive payments for their accounts, the first of which appeared in Monday's newspapers.

Browne said lessons must be learned from the review. "I want to be sure those charged with these difficult decisions have clear guidance for the future," Browne said in his first comment about the controversy, according to The Associated Press.

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

Meanwhile Iranian state television aired video Sunday of 15 British sailors and marines watching football on television, eating, laughing and playing ping-pong and chess during nearly two weeks in Iranian custody.

The images, aired on Iran's Arabic-language network al-Alam, appeared to refute the former captives' account of psychological pressure. The images showed they were held "in comfort" and that they enjoyed "complete freedom" during their captivity, the network said.

While in custody, some of the detainees confessed to straying into Iranian waters while on patrol in the northern Persian Gulf -- but they recanted upon return to Britain on Thursday.

Their commanding officer, Royal Navy Lt. Felix Carman, said he and his crew were held in isolation from each other during their captivity, interrogated most nights and presented with two options. "If we admitted that we had strayed we would be back on a plane to the U.K. pretty soon. If we didn't, we faced up to seven years in prison," he said. (Full statement)

Those accounts were given "after 26 hours of being questioned in a military base," al-Alam said.

In an interview published Monday, the only woman among the detained crew told Britain's Sun tabloid that she feared she was being measured for a coffin while in detention, according to Reuters. (Full story)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he had ordered the release of the Britons as an Easter gift and out of respect for last week's anniversary of the Prophet Muhammed's birth.

Meanwhile, the decision by the British navy to allow the former detainees to get paid for public appearances, book deals or news interviews has raised criticism that they are getting special treatment.

"It does compare very badly with the six soldiers who were killed in Iraq this week, against the Royal Marines who are fighting a serious battle in Helmand province in Afghanistan," said retired army Col. Bob Stewart.

"And quite frankly, a vast part of the British armed forces think it's not fair," the former commander of British peacekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina said.

The British navy defended its decision, saying that permission was granted to make sure the service "had sight of what they were going to say," it said. (Full story)

"Quite aside from the 'human interest story' surrounding these individuals, there are also sensitive strategic issues in play," the Defense Ministry said in a written statement. "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."

CNN's Matthew Chance contributed to this report

[Woodmonkey]

Meanwhile, the decision by the British navy to allow the former detainees to get paid for public appearances, book deals or news interviews has raised criticism that they are getting special treatment.

"It does compare very badly with the six soldiers who were killed in Iraq this week, against the Royal Marines who are fighting a serious battle in Helmand province in Afghanistan," said retired army Col. Bob Stewart.

Yes, it compares horribly with those six deaths.

More will come out about how cooperative the Marines and Sailors were and if that was appropriate under the circumstances, however, there's no way that getting paid to tell their stories is appropriate - in my opinion.

The British navy defended its decision, saying that permission was granted to make sure the service "had sight of what they were going to say," it said.

< snip >

"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."

That makes no sense as an argument for singling these military out for permission to get paid for their stories. What about all the others who are in combat, or are injured - all those arguments apply to them too.

[Caldric]

Interesting they/we allow criminals to sell their stories yet soldiers can not.

Embezzle a corporation for millions sure sell a book.

Murder someone sell your life story.

Fight for your country for pay that makes any honest person blush and absolutely not you can't sell your story.

What it has to do with the 6 dead soldiers is beyond my understanding.

[Woodmonkey]

Browne under fire in sailors row


Faye Turney has reportedly struck a six-figure deal

Turney on Tonight
Defence Secretary Des Browne has been accused by opposition MPs of acting too late after the MoD imposed a ban on personnel selling their stories.

Two of the Royal Navy crew members held in Iran have sold stories to the press, but further media deals have been stopped pending a government review.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the crew had been "put up for auction" by the events following their return.

The Lib Dems said events had been "mishandled" and the ban came too late.

The government did a U-turn late on Monday, reversing an earlier decision to allow service personnel to sell their stories.

Mr Browne said the sale of stories had been a "tough call" for the navy but those involved now accepted it had "not reached a satisfactory outcome" and lessons must be learned from the review.

Dr Fox said the crew's return had been "handled appallingly" and that public sympathy for them had been lost.

"Serving members of armed forces have, in effect, been put up for auction in the most horribly undignified fashion, something that has not gone unnoticed overseas," he said.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Nick Harvey said the ban came too late and was an admission that the MoD had "completely mishandled the situation".

He also warned the government against using the ban as an excuse to gag personnel from helpful discourse with the media in the future.


I want everyone out there to know my story from my side, see what I went through
Leading Seaman Faye Turney

Captive 'felt like a traitor'
Stories sale criticism grows

Mr Browne said the MoD's review of the rules governing the issue was aimed at making the regulations consistent across the armed forces.

Politicians, former soldiers and some relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq last week have questioned the decision by the Royal Navy to allow the crew to sell their stories.

Leading Seaman Faye Turney sold her story to ITV1's Tonight with Trevor Macdonald and the Sun newspaper - reportedly for a six-figure sum, some of which will go to navy families.

Meanwhile Arthur Batchelor, 20, the youngest of the British sailors to be held captive, told the Daily Mirror about his "nightmare" at the hands of his captors and how he "cried like a baby" in his cell.

'Unsavoury' sale

The crew returned to the UK on Thursday after 13 days in captivity

Both of the officers among the captives have said they do not plan to profit from the story.

Lieutenant Felix Carman, who was among those held, defended Leading Seaman Turney's decision to sell her story.

But he added that he found it "slightly unsavoury" that his fellow captives were being paid to tell their story.

But, of Leading Seaman Turney, he said: "She has taken the money, she is safeguarding her daughter's future. I would like to see what the critics would do in a similar position."

The Sun newspaper has defended its decision to pay for her story.

In the Trevor Macdonald programme, she defended her decision to sell her story and said a percentage of the money would help the crew and families of HMS Cornwall.

"I want everyone out there to know my story from my side, see what I went through," she told the programme.

She also said that there were times during her two-week ordeal when she cried herself to sleep.

The Source

[Caldric]

You know so basically there story is going to be told either way. Instead of the sailors making a little cash from the blood sucking leeches in the media the media pretty much gets it for free. In turn they will make huge profits from it.


Just isn't fair.

People whined about Jessica Lynch also, I say good for her if she got a million dollars out of the dungpile called News Media.