Browne faces MPs with ‘full confidence’ from PM
The prime minister Tony Blair has said he has “full confidence” in Des Browne as the defence secretary prepares to make a statement to MPs over his handling of the Iran hostage crisis.
His opponents are calling for Mr Browne’s resignation if he is unable to provide a satisfactory account of who allowed two of the sailors taken captive in Iran to sell their stories and why the government then appeared to reverse the decision.
Moreover, MPs want an explanation of how the crisis came about, including measures taken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to prevent it happening again.
Mr Browne has already implied that Navy officials first gave permission for two of the sailors to sell their stories, but MPs today want this confirmed amid speculation the prime minister may also have been consulted.
They will also want to know why Mr Browne then ordered a ban on future sales before appearing to admit that the navy had made the “wrong decision”.
There has been speculation that Downing Street was involved in the original decision to sell, amid a desire to counter Iranian propaganda. The prime minister has attempted to distance
himself from any allegations of ‘spin’ over the story.
Speaking to BBC1’s Sunday AM programme, Conservative leader David Cameron said Mr Browne still needed to give a full account to parliament of his and Number Ten’s actions, or resign.
Mr Cameron has already called on the prime minister to fully explain his role in the handling of the sale, accusing the government of being in “complete confusion”.
And the Tories and Liberal Democrats have further called for a thorough investigation into the sailors’ capture.
Lib Dem leader sir Menzies Campbell said: “The media shambles should not detract attention from the fundamental questions as to how the personnel were captured and what measures the Ministry of Defence had put in place to protect and support these marines and sailors.
“If the MoD failed to undertake adequate risk assessment or train personnel sufficiently then Des Brown would have no choice but to resign.”
