Defence Secretary 'sorry' over sailor stories

Defence Secretary Des Browne admitted today he "made a mistake" in not blocking sailors from selling their stories of their Iran ordeal to the media.

And he told MPs he "profoundly regretted" any questions his decision had raised about the reputation of Britain's armed forces.

His words came as he used a Commons statement to outline details of inquiries into the controversial decision and the capture of the personnel by Iran.

But he insisted there had been "no apology and no deal" with Iran to secure the release of the personnel.

Announcing the investigation into how the sailors and Marines came to be snatched during a routine patrol, he said it had been "an unusual situation with wide and far-reaching consequences".

It would be led by the Governor General of Gibraltar, Lieutenant General Sir Rob Fulton, Royal Marines, a retired former commander of UK Amphibious Task Forces.

The six-week inquiry would cover "all operational aspects" and the full results would be presented to the Commons defence committee but not published, he said.

An inquiry into the media handling aspects would be conducted by a senior military officer and a senior MoD official both unconnected with the decision and led by an independent figure "with wide media experience", he told MPs.

But it would not be a "witch hunt", he insisted.