Beckett dismisses Iranian letter on prisoners

British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said a letter from Iran on the detention of 15 British sailors and marines had done nothing to bring the stand-off over their capture to a close.

“There is nothing in the letter to suggest that the Iranians are looking for a way out,” Mrs Beckett said in Bremen, Germany, in a BBC interview in which she also accused Tehran of using the detained British service members for “blatant propaganda” purposes.