The counter propaganda scam was run by Downing Street, with Blair micro-managing every detail as usual from his sofa, and the Navy, in the person of Vice-Admiral Charles Style, Deputy Chief of British Defence Staff.

Blair had, earlier in the capture, personally dictated the statement to Style which he read on in public as “the GPS equipment and the Iraqi foreign minister have confirmed the British sailors were 1.7 nautical miles, roughly three kilometres, inside Iraqi waters when they boarded the merchant vessel.”

Des Brown sat tiddling his fingers in the Ministry not knowing what was going on.

He was the last to be informed by Style but disagreed when told about the decision to sell the stories.

Style told Des Brown that the decision had already been made by Blair so he could “go jump.”

Now Brown has to carry the can for Blair who knows the navy can’t grass him up.

So works our great democratic sofa government where ministers are the last to know.