How I Became Her Majesty's Coward

Could that be the title of one of the big bucks memoirs from the members of Her Majesty's Navy who became guests of Iran? The hostages have been granted permission by the government to profit from this military embarrassment:

The 15 British military captives who were released by the Iranians have been authorised by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to sell their stories.

MoD officials claimed that the move to lift the ban on military personnel selling their stories while in service was justified because of the “exceptional circumstances” of the case. The hostages are expected to earn as much as £250,000 between them.

The story of Faye Turney, 26, the only female among them, is expected to be the most lucrative. She could profit by as much as £150,000 from a joint deal with a newspaper and ITV.

The MoD bracketed the hostages’ 13-day captivity in Iran — including appearances on state television by some to admit straying into Iranian waters — with winners of the Victoria Cross.

This weekend relatives of victims killed or injured in the Iraq war and opposition politicians criticised the authorisation as “inappropriate” and “undignified”. It comes only three days after their release and before they have given detailed evidence to an official inquiry....

One of the hostages, Dean Harris, 30, an acting sergeant in the Royal Marines, told a Sunday Times reporter yesterday: “I want £70,000. That is based on what the others have told me they have been offered. I know Faye has been offered a heck more than that. I am worth it because I was one of only two who didn’t crack.”

John Tindell, the father of Joe Tindell, another of the hostages, said his son had turned down an offer of £10,000. “The MoD said if you want to earn money you are free to go out and do it. I was a bit surprised. The MoD said to the marines, ‘Go out there, tell the truth and make the money’.”

He claimed the marines were planning to sell on eBay the vases given to them in their “goody bags” by the Iranians.

The freedom they were given surprised Max Clifford, the storybroker, who said the MoD was “frogmarching them out to win the propaganda war”.

Colonel Bob Stewart, a commander of British UN forces in Bosnia, said: “I am appalled the MoD is encouraging them to profit from a military disaster. Some of them are acting like reality TV stars.”

If I acted the way these people did in captivity, I'd want to run and hide, not put my story out for everyone to see. But in this day and age, "celebrity" is more important than "significance", and these people are celebrities because they appeared on TV, and few will dare to judge their actions.