Paid for their story for or against?

So why have the 15 'captives' just released from Iran been allowed to 'sell' their stories to the press? Correct me if I am wrong all you ex-servicemen/women but I thought you signed a confidentiality agreement, state secrets and all that? I don't know if it is right or wrong but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth somehow. Surely this sets a precedent, if they can do it then anybody should be able to 'kiss and tell', something wrong here methinks.

Ozzielass, I think the operative word here is 'allowed'.

We did/do sign the OSA (and as far as im aware I'm still bound by it), but these chaps/chapess have been told they can release details, whats the issue ??

The "issue" is suit,that for money, stories get embellished and that cant be good for anybody can it?also what happens to the next lot that they get hold of?

Maybe it's just their actual experiences they're allowed to talk about NOT any secretive stuff. Can't see even this government being stupid enough to allow official secrets to be broadcast.

sonlyme, they are still in the Navy, they will have been told what they can/cannot say. Any 'embellishment' will be done by the papers, with or without any input from the Navy. I'm happy to see them get something for their pains

What next lot??? Hopefulyy lessons learnt here !

.

Agreed getwom, The English/International public will be clamouring for details, so, let them hear a modicum of truth rather than conjecture from the press.

Personally I havent followed tha majority of this, as i see those who want all the finite details as ghouls, I'm just happy they are home and safe, and if they get some brass out of it as well, good for 'em !

How will their fellow servicemen see this? "You were lucky enough to be held prisoner, released and then paid a fortune for your story while I just got my leg blown off and got b-----r all" Doesn't sit well with me?

Of course there will be some resentment, but then, you cant please all the people all the time

What a mess

Our lads and lasses seem to ge able to get taken hostage a bit too easy with little or no back up.

God help the next hostage taken by IRAN
I can just see it now they will say

" you british have big mouths you tell us one thing then tell your own people and the World another story ,
There wont be any more gifts of freedom for your captives in future".

Tony Walk the Walk.
dont Talk the Talk.

JJ

"There wont be any more gifts of freedom for your captives in future"

JJ, as I said earlier, hopefully lessons will have been learnt and there wont be anymore captives in future

lets not forget the four squaddies blown to kingdom come by iranian supplied bombs. two of them women.just a couple of days after the release of these hostages.i wonder what the payout will be for their dependants????
yeah right..

Billy, What payout are the army giving to the captured personnel ??

Oops, soz, meant Navy, tut at me

the merchant navy hubbs, is a separate entity to the other services. let me add a couple more colours to your paint box.
take the last war for instance, when the army/navy/airforce personel were taken prisoner, their pay continued until liberation day, and eventualy their demob.
now consider this, if you are still with the post,...the moment the merchant vessel was hit and sunk, all crew members were of pay from then on???hows that for discrimination.

What ARE you blithering on about ? I never mentioned the merchant Navy ???

And, whats this 'Hubbs' business ??

re your question "what payout are the navy giving these personel" ?they have sanctioned them to make money from their experience???they have complied with this matter, therefore are giving the go ahead for the daily blats to cash in with others for this weak reponse to iranian agro.

as in hub caps???remember bud. =

Yes, The navy (or MOD more likely) HAVE sanctioned them to speak to the papers (to what degree I dont know), but the MOD are not forking out cash. So your rant about the 4 unfortunates not getting a payout holds no water in this context.

And 'Hubbs', i take it, implies I'm a thief (aka a scouser), so, that is your view of scousers is it ?

my my. for a man who starts a thread on wooly backs(name given to wiganers by scousers)he cant take it when informed scousers are called "hub caps" ya can hear it on comedy shows on the box all the time hubs...so whats your beef???i am sure wiganers can live with being called "wooly backs"by hub caps.
PS tut tut...dont be so sensitive hubs. =

'Tack', the reason for the 'wooleyback' thread was the persuance of knowledge. However, you seem to thrive on conflict (though I doubt you have ever served in ANY conflict).

Take your own advice, do not clog a thread with your ravings, create a new thread, and again, I'll be happy to respond

P.S. - I'm happily married (not 'stuck' or 'having to put up with' as you have mentioned in a previous thread regarding marriage) to a wooleyback, so I would not use wooleyback as a derogatory term.

ive touched his sensitivities wigan world???the man with so much sarcasm and insults in his posts cant take it. tells me one thing disco and empress..you guys are made of sterner stuff than hub cap, you never once cried and asked for your ball back like zoot.(better call him this..the other hurts him)

sonlyme, they are still in the Navy, they will have been told what they can/cannot say. Any 'embellishment' will be done by the papers, with or without any input from the Navy. I'm happy to see them get something for their pains

What next lot??? Hopefulyy lessons learnt here !

lessons are never learned by any organisation in this country whether it be social services or goverment or MOD

One can hope, sonlyme, one can hope

[edit] please stop spamming the boards.

Im so against it.
Faye Turney and the other soldier chap should be ashamed of themselves for selling their stories.
Why 4 British soldiers lie dead on foreign soil, they are making a quick buck.
On the day they were released we lost 4 of our own.
Shame on them!
It was mentioned on Sky news this morning that the possibilities are endless for Faye, Big Brother, modelling clothes.
All money earned should be given to a soldiers charity.

Couldn't agree more re the royalties that'll ensue after the 100G payment from the rags. One off payment then rest to service charities.

sense at last. due to the furo this has caused(rightly so) payments for these people have been scrapped.no one objects to them telling their story, but the country as a whole, deplore them selling their story.now lets put pressure on phoney tony to give the vets returning from his war games, a decent payout for any injuries they may have incured whilst he was jollying in the house bar. (tax free booze)or his missus on lecture toures abroad. (all expenses paid, yet still pocketing big bucks for herself)

I and thousands of others in this country, who were feeling mighty uncomfortable over the 'cash for story' about to be made to the 15 - (actually - it seems only 2 or 3 were accepting this offer - many of the others declined to..) Des Brown today has reversed the decision - in the face of country wide uproar, and protests from Military scources. They cannot now sell their stories. Will Faye Turney now give her money to charity etc.
We were caught with our trousers down. The MOD tried to 'pass the buck' to the 15 - the Tabloids would have had a field day with them. The journalists would have printed their own version of their story, and they would have regretted it. Their lives would have been made hell back with their 'oppo's'
These are good people - but are pawns in a much bigger game. Our reputation in the world is zilch - and the Yanks are lovin' it!

has any of you seen the pics in various world newspapers???the hostages are seen enjoying themselves playing table tennis and other assorted games???in our own press we saw them patronisingly co-operative with the iranians??. it would seem to most readers they were on vacation for ten days???to come home and attempt to capitolise on this was so hurtfull to the parents of heroes who had given their young lives for blair, and for what...a large turnout and a few bugles blasting the cemetery air waves.as for the skipper of the cornwall, he should be reduced in rank to ordinary seaman-o-class.

his claim of shallow waters dosent hold water(pardon the pun)the yanks are steaming thro these same waters on a daily base.it was a complete cock up. taken by surprise and the comand not knowing what to do. again, he could do nothing without the sanction of whitehall. these guys at whitehall had to be found, now wheres prescott, blair, anybody???last seen in the duty free bar.
god..please save us from the pretenders.

Well the MOD have truly got egg on their faces and made a laughing stock of the whole country if you ask me. Looks like policy on the run, yes they can sell their stories, no they can't, what the hell will they think of tomorrow? Didn't any of those highly paid bureaucrats and MOD personnel think through the consequences of their decisions just for one minute.

I agree, god help any poor unfortunate military personnel that get taken captive by the Iranians after their hastily retracted confessions, we were mistreated blah blah blah, don't think the next lot will be playing table tennis?? Even George Bush couldn't have come up with such a stuff up. Rule Britannia? More like Fool Britannia - apologies to any past or present serving personnel but this must be how Britain will be seen throughout the Middle East after this schemozzle???

Its a sign of the times I think Ozzie, it does take away the seriousness of it all for me when I hear they are being paid by the press.But people are greedy, it is a story we'd all want to read though, I am curiousness as to what the truth is, many ex forces write books after they leave the forces, Andy MacNab wrote a few, I read them too.
They need to be glad they are home, and to remember those who have just last week lost their lives, I'd respect them more if they gave all or part of the money to forces charities, the same charities who will now be supporting the families of those who have recently been killed in action.

I take your point Emp about ex forces writing books etc., don't have a problem with that AFTER the event, but this conflict is still happening, surely whatever is said or written by these people could have consequences for some poor bastard that is still out there? I think the boffins at the MOD have been smoking something other than Woodbines, think they have all gone mad. A bloody Mad Hatters Tea Party would have made more sense out of this lot.

Wonder how diplomatic relations between UK and Iran stand now? Wouldn't like the Brits chances of asking any favours from them?

I have already once given my view but i thought that there was something funny when Faye Turney wasnt part of the press conference last week.Apparently, she wanted to spend time with her family. Could it possibly have had something to do with the fact that ITN had exclusive rights to her story.

nail on the head disco.
i wonder how many POW,s from the big conflict viewed this pantomime??still, in this weird and phoney climate today, i guess nothing seems to shock or suprise.there are three posters in here who said they should sell their story??but thanks to public oppinion, the wallflowers have been put out to grass.best descision this clapped out blair gov has come up with.shallow water indeed, these are the shipping lanes of ocean going tankers??they have a draught far in excess of any light warship or cruiser for that matter.b****y spin is all that comes out of this whiter than white gov of ours.

The OSA still stands.Immediately Faye Turney was to tell her story,all other storytelling was suddenly stopped. Why because Blair thinks Fayes story in the press will get him plenty of anti Iranian support when he yet once again backs George Bush on another of his gung-ho escapades.Iran is next to Israel.....Enough said....

she may get the spin docs support bryn, but she sure as hell hasnt got the support of the armed forces. i thought she was a member, but after watching their escapades in custody??i doubt it very much. the iranians, thanks to these hostages, won a world wide propoganda coup.they made the elite brit military look third rate. blair hadnt a clue as to what to do. some posters inhere said quote..do nowt???thats exactly what he did, and lost the game.