Armed Forces media ban closing the door after the horse has bolted - Harvey
April 10, 2007 2:59 PM
Commenting on the announcement tonight that military personnel have been banned from selling their stories to the media until a policy review is completed, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey MP said:
"The review of procedures and ban are welcome but Des Browne's announcement is clearly a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
"The ban is a complete admission that the Ministry of Defence has completely mishandled the situation.
"There is a story to be told about what happened to the sailors and marines in Iran, but the release of this information should have been co-ordinated by the Ministry of Defence.
"Leaving the returned captives to handle the pressures of the media alone was a dereliction of the MoD's duty.
"We don't want to see open season for all military personnel selling their story whenever anything eventful happens but the Government must not now use this ban as an excuse to gag military personnel from normal and helpful discourse with the media."
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats