In a Commons statement Defence Secretary, Des Browne released snippets of the MOD report on the capture of 15 british navy personnel in March 2007 and the continuing mistakes made following the subsquent release.

British soldiers sell story Although the personnel were wrong to sell their stories, There was no case for disciplinary action as a result of the seizure, said Des Browne.

"The acceptance of payments from the media offended the public and their view of the special place of the armed forces in British life," and "I acknowledge this failing was my responsibility," said Des Browne.

"Above all General Fulton's report concludes that the events of March 23 were not the result of a single gross failing or individual human error, but of the coming together of a series of vulnerabilities, many relatively small when viewed in isolation, which together placed our personnel in a position that could be exploited through a deliberate act by an unpredictable foreign power," Mr Browne said.

The head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band said that the sailors may receive disciplinary actions.

He also recognised that the Royal Navy's reputation had been "dented" by what had happened. "The events of March 23 were one bad day in our proud 100-year history. I can assure the British people that I will personally ensure that the recommendations of this report are fully implemented," he said.

Basically the report is a whitewash, no one takes the blame for the multitude of failures, instead the report rambles on to blame the structure of the coalition for the event. The second report comes to the conclusion after several months that serving personnel should be banned from selling stories in the future. The event, the aftermath and the reports demonstrate serious institutional weaknesses that have not been addressed and as a consequences the risks remain of repeat events of a similar nature.

By John York

John York Archive

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