After criticism of the MoDs recent decision to allow the Navy15 to sell their stories, all members of the military have now been banned from doing so.

Should servicemen and women be allowed to sell their stories? Yes, and no.

The culture of celebrity that infests British society would get the stories eventually - either through "relatives" or "friends of" the sailors involved. Presumably the MoD then decided allowed the fifteen to sell their stories to prevent this happening, and presumably to ensure that they had some control over the stories which were finally printed or broadcast, and so that the whole event would die down and end entirely far sooner than if it was kept alive by continual drips of information making it into the press.

However, the sailors involved in the event knew that being captured was a possibility in the military, and they get paid to do a job. Should they really benefit financially from this? It happened whilst they were doing what they were being paid for.

The allowance of chequebook journalism was a mistake. Neither of the two officers plan to gain financially from the story, which is to their credit. As it is, any money any of them make from their stories should be donated to charities such as the Royal British Legion.

One way that the MoD can have achieved all of the goals without causing such criticism would have been to only allow the sailors to sell their stories for charitable donations, not for personal gain. It would also have been better if the sailors had had to sell their stories as part of one package, rather than individually, to try and prevent or at least weaken the "celebritisation" of the sailors, especially Faye Turney.

As it is, I doubt that this ban will work. The same information will always get out, just with less accuracy and over a longer period of time, as before. The MoD would be best allowing servicemen to sell their stories, but within stricter guidelines and under MoD control and veto.

Sources: BBC, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian