UK NEWS
STAY AWAY, MINISTER
Embattled Defence Secretary Des Browne
By Macer Hall, Political Editor
EMBATTLED Des Browne was dealt a humiliating snub yesterday by relatives of the latest British soldiers killed in Iraq.
The Defence Secretary was asked to stay away from their sad homecoming.
The four troops were killed in a roadside bomb attack on a Warrior armoured patrol vehicle near Basra last week.
As the Iran hostages cash-for-stories row deepened, no Government minister attended the solemn return at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire for Second Lieutenant Joanna Yorke Dyer, Corporal Kris O’Neill, Private Eleanor Dlugosz and Kingsman Adam James Smith.
Meanwhile, internal Ministry of Defence documents leaked last night cast further doubt on the future of Mr Browne, pictured.
The documents, detailing rules for military personnel speaking to the media, showed that procedures stipulate that all interviews about national stories must be cleared by the MoD’s Whitehall press office.
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The coffin of Second Lieutenant Joanna Yorke Dyer arrives at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
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That appeared to undermine Mr Browne’s claim that the decision about selling stories had been taken by Naval commanders rather than his own officials.
MoD officials denied yesterday’s stay-away request to Mr Brown was a snub, insisting that some relatives had simply requested a private ceremony.
But the mother of 19-year-old Army medic Pte Dlugosz voiced anger at the Government decision to allow two freed Navy personnel to sell their stories to the media.
Sally Veck said: “If you are a member of the military, it is your duty to serve your country. You should do your duty and not expect to make money by selling stories.”
Draped in Union flags, the coffins of the four fallen soldiers were borne by regimental comrades in a slow march across the tarmac at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
Their deaths marked the bloodiest day for British forces in Iraq since last November.
Reports of their deaths had been broadcast just as the release of 15 Navy personnel held in Iran was announced.
They returned to Britain straight into a row over media payments for some of their
stories.
But yesterday’s dignified ceremony provided a solemn contrast. A C-17 plane with the four coffins touched down at lunchtime after the flight from Basra.
One by one, their coffins were lifted on to the shoulders of six pallbearers from their regiments as grief-stricken families looked on.
Second Lieutenant Dyer, from Yeovil, Somerset, was at Sandhurst Military Academy with Prince William, who had described her as a “close friend” and expressed his deep sadness at her death. Mr Browne, who is fighting to keep his job following widespread criticism of his department’s handling of the Iran hostage crisis, was yesterday in Canada attending a long-standing ministerial engagement.
But the controversy over the touting of hostages’ stories continued to rage, with speculation growing that he will be sacked in a Cabinet reshuffle after Mr Blair quits this summer.
Downing Street officials denied having “anything to do” with the decision, which was later reversed.
Tory leader David Cameron said: “I think Downing Street is in complete confusion and I think the Prime Minister has got to make absolutely clear when he knew about this whole issue. But, to me, what matters for the Defence Secretary is he has to pass two tests.
“First, he has to show he still has the confidence of members of our Armed Services, who are working so hard for our country.
“And secondly, he has to give a full account of himself to the House of Commons on Monday.”
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