I can't recall when I've seen such a spineless and incompetent performance by the British. It certainly is not typical.

It's an open secret that as well as stopping ships in international waters in the Gulf, to search for contraband, the mother ship was supposed to gather intelligence on the Iranians. That would require a higher state of alertness than was shown. The boarding party set off from a modern warship with the latest radar and with a well armed Lynz helicopter able to give air support. They should have seen, or been warned of, the Iranians' movements. It looks like a clear case of complacency, leading to sloppiness. Someone should be held to account and that should be the Captain of the warship. He's in command, he takes the blame.

As for the boarding party, some were Royal Marines, some were Royal Naval ratings. They were lightly armed and certainly could not match the Iranians' firepower but will have had radio contact with their mother ship, which certainly could. There must be some doubt that the Iranians would have been prepared to fire on the British had they declined to surrender. It would have sparked a much more serious incident if they had killed a dozen British service personnel in international waters. Again, someone commanded the boarding party; he should be held to account.

As for the performance in captivity, some of the captives should be ashamed of themselves. They are not fit to wear their country's uniform. In fact they have disgraced it. No one joins up hoping to be killed, but surely one has to be prepared to give one's life. Some of these people weren't even prepared to suffer someone being nasty to them! What good would they ever have been on a warship facing incoming missile attack?

Commendation be damned! Courts Martial!

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