Questions follow Britons’ return

LONDON – A joyous reception for 15 British sailors and marines freed from Iran turned to hard questioning Thursday about the British military’s handling of the event and the ready confessions the Britons offered to their Iranian captors.

The 14 men and one woman had scarcely settled down at a marine base in Devon when politicians began calling for inquiries into how the crews of two small patrol boats had found themselves lightly armed, without escort and far from their ship in disputed waters in the Persian Gulf.

Some commentators said the captured crew members must explain the easygoing demeanor with which they admitted to entering Iranian waters and made televised apologies after their March 23 detention by Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

“I think there certainly will need to be an investigation, from the military point of view, as to how the Revolutionary Guards managed to sneak up on them without anybody noticing. And I’ve got no idea what the answer is going to be,” said Phyllis Starkey, a Labor member of Parliament.

Prime Minister Tony Blair credited diplomacy for the release of the detainees and said Britons were “sufficiently intelligent” not to be taken in by “the theater” of the announced pardon by Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“It is correct that over the past couple of weeks there have been new and interesting lines of communication opened up with the Iranian regime, and it’s sensible for us to continue to pursue those,” Blair said. “However, the international community has got to remain absolutely steadfast in enforcing its will, whether it is in respect of nuclear weapons or in respect of the support of any part of the Iranian regime for terrorism.”

Leading Seaman Faye Turney gave a hint of the group’s unease about the reception they would receive in an interview before the crew left Tehran airport. “Not many of us slept last night, because we weren’t sure what the reaction will be back home,” she said.

The public reception has been overwhelmingly warm and celebratory. Senior military officials have stood behind the crew members, declaring they had followed military procedures.

“Nobody can be judged for what they say under duress,” said Bernard Jenkin, a Conservative member of Parliament. “They will have resisted giving any sensitive or classified information they may have had, but beyond that, you can’t expect service personnel to risk life and limb, when we know that anything they say for public consumption is likely to be contrived anyway, so what weight does it really carry?”

But some observers were less generous toward the former detainees and the military command behind them.

“The Royal Navy have got some questions to answer,” said Charles Heyman, a former defense studies lecturer at the Royal Air Force College who also served as a general staff officer in the British Army. “Why did that boarding party not have proper air cover? Why did they board the (searched) ship on the blind side? I don’t think that crew was properly trained,” he said.

Chris Brown, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, said that depending on what comes out in an investigation of the circumstances, “it seems to me that dishonorable discharge would not be an inappropriate response in some cases.”

“I don’t blame the other ranks, but there were two officers involved there who certainly seemed to be acknowledging that they had gone into Iranian waters and apologizing, and they had no right to do that,” he said.

But among friends and relatives waiting Thursday at the Royal Marine Barracks Chivenor, where two Sea King helicopters carrying the crew touched down at mid-afternoon, there was no hint of anything but pride and relief. The rest of the day was spent sharing hugs, tears, smiles and a good dinner.