A Royal Navy commander has been removed from his ship after 15 of his sailors and marines were captured by Iran last year. Cmdr Jeremy Woods, captain of the frigate HMS Cornwall, had been moved "to a post where his talents and experience can be used to best effect", the Ministry of Defence said. A spokesman denied the decision was connected to events in March last year, described at the time by the head of the navy as a "bad day" for the service.Iranian revolutionary guards captured the seven Royal Marines and eight sailors at gunpoint after they left the Cornwall in a small vessel to search a ship in waters between Iran and Iraq. Iran - which insisted the group was in its waters, something the UK denied - held them for 13 days, before their release in a publicity exercise orchestrated by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The navy's embarrassment was heightened by the way the crew appeared willing to be paraded before the world's media in Iranian-provided suits, shaking Ahmadinejad's hand and smiling. Further criticism followed when two of the captives, Faye Turney and Arthur Batchelor, were allowed to sell their stories to the media. The latter was particularly castigated for complaining that his iPod had been taken. In December the Commons defence committee called the affair a "national embarrassment" and recommended formal disciplinary action against those responsible.
Woods is a navy veteran of 23 years who took command of HMS Cornwall in late 2006 after captaining a minesweeper, HMS Bangor. "This is an internal administrative matter between the individual and his senior officers and we will not give further details," a spokesman said.
The capture of the boarding party was described by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the first sea lord, as "one bad day in our proud 400-year history".
An internal MoD inquiry blamed bad intelligence, inadequate training, confused communications and poor judgment by senior commanders. The defence secretary, Des Browne, did not make public the inquiry's findings.