Beckett seeks review of relations with Iran after sailors' capture

The Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, has ordered a review of Britain's relations with Iran following the capture of 15 British sailors last month in the Persian Gulf. She said that after the Government attributed a similar hostage-taking in 2004 to a "misunderstanding ... that is not the way to react now".

She made it clear that if she has a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, on the sidelines of an Iraq conference later this week in Egypt, she would deliver a stern message, although she ruled out any change in Britain's stance in nuclear negotiations.

Meanwhile, Arthur Batchelor, one of the sailors taken hostage by Iranian soldiers, has failed to join his shipmates back in Iraq because he has lost his passport. The remaining 14 captives returned to their ship HMS Cornwall yesterday.