Iran delays sailor's release

A war of words escalated sharply yesterday over British sailors captured by Iran in the Gulf, with Tehran putting off freeing a female prisoner and London calling her treatment "outrageous and cruel".

Britain launched a diplomatic offensive, drafting a strongly-worded statement for the UN Security Council and seeking to persuade European Union members to join it in cutting back diplomatic relations with Tehran.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was disgusted by Iran's treatment of the prisoners, adding he would not enter "tit-for-tat" negotiations to secure their release.

Iran has shown the prisoners on television, and yesterday distributed a second letter purportedly from the only female captive, Faye Turney, confessing to entering Iranian waters. Both letters were in stilted English, with unusual phrases that linguistic experts said appeared to have been translated from Farsi into English.

"Unfortunately during the course of our mission we entered into Iranian waters. Even through our wrongdoing, they have still treated us well and humanely, which I am and always will be eternally grateful," yesterday's letter said. It called for British forces to withdraw from Iraq.

"We have not seen this letter but we have grave concerns about the circumstances in which it was prepared and issued. this blatant attempt to use Leading Seaman Turney for propaganda purposes is outrageous and cruel," British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said in a statement.

Iran had promised on Wednesday it would free Ms Turney soon. But yesterday Iranian military commander Alireza Afshar said her release had been "suspended".