Tony Blair said on camera during a visit to Wales yesterday
"Look, I did not actually know about the decision until after it was taken, but really that is not the point," he said. "The Navy was trying to deal with a wholly exceptional situation where the families were being pursued by the media to sell their stories.
"The Navy took the view that it was better to manage the situation than let it happen. Now, with hindsight, was that a good idea? No. But precisely because people would then misrepresent that as somehow the Navy encouraging people to sell their stories which they were not at all.
Was it the Senior staff in the Navy that made this decision?? I cannot believe that it was. Surely they (the commanders) must have known the effect this would have had. Is this Bliar and Browne nose trying to pass the buck yet again?