New propaganda letter in Faye's name says: Pull out of Iraq

 Add your view

Iran has piled the pressure on Tony Blair using hostage Faye Turney in a cynical new propaganda stunt.

Iranian diplomats in London published a handwritten note claiming to be from the kidnapped sailor calling for British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.

The move came minutes after the Prime Minister had demanded the "unconditional release" of the 25-year-old mother and her 14 comrades.

Addressed to "representative of the House of Commons", the one-page letter reads: "Isn't it time for us to start withdrawing our forces from Iraq and let them determine their own future." It is signed 'Faye Turney' and dated March 27, three days ago.

It concedes the key issue in the present crisis - that she and her fellow hostages were in Iranian waters when they were seized, which Britain strongly denies - and stresses her captors "have looked after me well".

Scroll down for more ...

The second letter allegedly written by Faye Turney

There was no immediate way of checking the letter but it appears to have been written under duress.

Downing Street said: "It is cruel and callous to do this to someone in this position. To play games like this is a disgrace."

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "We have not seen the letter but we have grave concerns about the circumstances in which it was prepared and issued.

"This blatant attempt to use Leading Seaman Turney for propaganda purposes is outrageous and cruel."

Faye Turney and the other British marines held captive as they appeared on state Iranian TV. Faye, who describes her captors as 'compassionate' has apologised for entering Iran's waters

The diplomatic crisis over the 25-year-old mother, who has a girl aged three, intensified when was paraded on state TV on Wednesday night.

And it deepened further when Iran made an abrupt U-turn over promises for her release.

Tehran had said she would be freed after "confessing" that her Navy boarding party had "trespassed" in Iranian waters. But it back-tracked on the pledge.

Hardline Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani accused the British Government of "arrogance" and warned it to end its "fuss" and "media campaign".

Larijani, the secretary of Iran's supreme national security council, said: "They have created a ballyhoo over diplomatic ties and raised the issue with the UN. This will not help solve the issue."

Mr Blair vowed to "step up the pressure" on the Iranian regime and condemned the video footage of Mrs Turney as a "disgrace".

He said the Iranians must understand the 'only outcome' is the unconditional release of the British personnel.

"The sooner they realise this is the case, that there is no option other than to release them, the better."

Britain suffered a setback at the UN last night when the Security Council refused to support a motion "deploring" Iran's actions and demanding the immediate release of the 15. After three hours of talks, ambassadors from the 15 council nations were working on a watered-down statement.

Nations including Russia, China, Indonesia and Qatar are believed to have argued they have no way of verifying exactly where the incident took place.

Amid criticism of Britain's low-key response to the crisis, America's former ambassador to the UN John Bolton said the 'softly softly' approach Britain had adopted over Iran's nuclear programme had emboldened the Iranians to the point where they could say: "We can do something as outrageous as seize 15 of their citizens and they won't do anything in response."

Tehran raised the stakes by not only denying British diplomats access to the captives but also threatening to put them on trial.

In the Iranian capital, protestors accused Mrs Turney and her comrades of spying and called for their execution.

New TV footage shows Iranians en route to seizing 15 British sailors last week

• Sailor was 'clearly coerced' says former hostage

Iranian TV broadcast what it claimed was evidence that the Navy boats had repeatedly violated its territorial waters - despite data which Britain insists shows the incident occurred 1.7 miles inside Iraqi nautical waters.

In the footage, lasting just five seconds, gunshots are heard and a helicopter hovers above inflatable boats in choppy seas. Iranian boats are shown cruising around with a couple of revolutionary guards shooting into the air.

A Ministry of Defence inquiry is now under way into the capture in broad daylight of the 15 sailors and Marines amid mounting criticism of the Royal Navy's 'softly-softly' approach.

The spectacle of Mrs Turney being forced to read out a statement on Iranian TV praising her captors has also focussed attention on the way today's servicemen and women are ordered to conduct themselves if captured.

Traditionally they have been told to refuse to give anything other than name, rank and number. But now they are trained to cooperate with their captors if they believe their lives are at risk.

Iran's decision to suspend the release of Mrs Turney alarmed her family and those of the 14 other political pawns. It also reopened the debate as to whether women members of the Armed Forces should be put in the front line of battle.

Mr Blair, asked about the treatment of Mrs Turney, said: "I just think it's completely wrong, a disgrace, when people are used in that way."

Explaining the Government's response, he continued: "What you have to do when you are engaged with people like the Iranian regime, you have to keep explaining to them, very patiently, what it is necessary to do and at the same time make them fully aware there are further measures that will be taken if they're not prepared to be reasonable.

"What you can't do is end up negotiating over hostages."

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett accused Iran of an "outrageous and cruel" attempt to use the young mother-of-one for propaganda purposes.

Downing Street said: "It is cruel and callous to do this to someone in this position, and to play games like this is a disgrace."

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "This is an abuse of the rights and dignity of our service personnel.

"The content of the letter is not credible and it represents a grotesque, cruel and counterproductive act of propaganda."

Leading Seaman Faye Turney, who was one of the sailors captured, is being kept separately from the other hostages

War zone: British marines patrolling aboard an inflatable off Basra

 

What's on today   What's on tomorrow

Receive our newsletter