Browne takes blame over stories-for-sale row

Defence Secretary Des Browne accepted responsibility today for allowing two of the 15 British service personnel held by Iran to sell their stories to the media.

But he said he had not been "content" with the Royal Navy’s analysis of the situation, and had been asked only to "note" the decision, not endorse it. Mr Browne, speaking in a pooled TV interview, said of the controversial move: "Responsibility for that rests with me."

Mr Browne went on: "I knew about the decision. A note indicating the decision and the anlysis of the regulations that supported that decision came into my office on Thursday and early on Friday afternoon one of my officials took me through that.

"I was asked to note the decision. Clearly over the weekend I thought about the decision and over that weekend I accepted the analysis that was put forward to me by the Navy but I wasn’t content with it."

He added he did not think the Royal Navy was content with it either. Mr Browne confirmed that, as expected, he would make a statement to the Commons about operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, when Parliament resumes on Monday after its Easter break.

He would not go into details of what operational lessons might have been learned from the episode for future boarding parties in Iraqi waters.

But he insisted: "I said at the outset, although this was a Navy decision I have to take responsibility for it, and I don’t seek to hide behind the fact that the Navy made the decision.

"Ultimately, the buck stops here."

Mr Browne said "with hindsight" he would have taken a different view about allowing the sailors to sell their stories.

He said Tony Blair was aware of the Navy’s decision on Sunday, but revealed his first contact with the Prime Minister on the issue occurred on Monday, when he announced his ban on the sale of further stories.

The Defence Secretary said: "I first spoke to the Prime Minister about the issue on Monday when I was in the process of making the decision which was announced in the statement I made on Monday.

"That was the first contact I had with the Prime Minster on this.

"I understand that the Prime Minister knew about the Navy’s decision some time on the Sunday but I spoke to him on Monday."