THE Prime Minister tried to escape blame tonight for the controversial move to allow 15 British sailors captured by Iran to sell their stories.

Tony Blair said he "didn't know" about the decision until after it was taken and added that, with hindsight, allowing the military personnel to sell their stories was “his bad idea”.

“The navy were dealing with a wholly exceptional situation in which I was directing and minutely managing a counter propaganda drive against Iran. It is what I think I’m best at, after all,” he said.

Blair said “ That the navy took the view that my idea of selling the stories to my pal Goebbels Murdoch, for him to ramp up the propaganda against Iran, was a bonkers idea but I forced it on them.”

“Do I believe it will happen again? No. As no one in their right minds will listen to another word I say as long as I’m in Downing Street.”

Mr Blair's comments, as he visited Wales ahead of next month's Assembly elections, came as demands for an inquiry into the decision intensified as Defence Secretary brown finally accepted full responsibility but again forgot, like Blair, the bit about resigning.

As families and politicians criticised the decision, he denied trying to pass the buck on to military chiefs, admitting in his first interview since the controversy erupted Brown said: “Ultimately, the buck stops here since the central role Tony played can’t be mentioned.”