Sir, Having served with the Royal Navy in the Gulf, during peacetime and war, I wish to express my anger and frustration regarding the situation that has been allowed to develop with our kidnapped Service people in Iran.

If, as now seems apparent, we are putting our people in harm’s way with no commitment to back them up should things take a turn for the worse, then we should cease the policy of stop-and-search in the Gulf immediately.

At the time of the abduction, HMS Cornwall must have been aware of the approach of the Iranians, using her onboard sensors and those of the Lynx helicopter which was on the scene at the time. Yet apparently no effort was made, either by the heavily armed warship or the Lynx, usually armed at this time with light and heavy machineguns, to protect their sailors or prevent their capture. I know that the Marines would have hated to have given up, and would only have done so because they were directed to by their own commanders. This is another example of this Government’s willingness to commit our people to dangerous operations without the backbone or even the means to back them up.

PAUL HEAD, Portland, Dorset

Sir, What precisely, I wonder, were the MoD’s rules of engagement for one of Her Majesty’s highly armed warships operating legally in international waters, and for its Royal Marine detachment operating close by in patrol boats, when intercepted by Iranian forces?

The detachment’s submission to arrest, following what amounts to an act of piracy, without a single retaliatory shot being fired is, frankly, disgraceful, as is the supine diplomatic response by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

WILLIAM PENDER, Salisbury

Sir, Many of us have watched dismayed as politicians and diplomats have trodden softly-softly so as not to upset those who have treated innocent people, operating under a UN mandate, with disdain.

Surely the diplomats have learnt something from the appeasement of the late 1930s? The same happened with the Falklands, where many British and Argentine dead (not to mention the even greater numbers injured) paid a very high price for the Foreign Office and previous governments treading softly-softly so as not to upset the Argentinians.

GRAHAM FERGUSON, Lyme Regis, Dorset

Sir, For decades it has been known that the Iranian Government has disagreed on the detail of its boundary with Iraq, as it splits the al-Arab waterway.

In those circumstances, the present disgraceful situation should have been foreseen and avoided.

Surely it is time the citizens of this country were told what rules of engagement were given to the Royal Navy operating in those waters.

In particular, should the Captain of HMS Cornwall have allowed the members of his crew to operate out of range of his ship’s weapons, or of the cover of allied close-support fighters?

Our servicemen should be permitted to defend themselves, if their task was lawful.

JOHN CONSTANT, Dartmouth

Sir, With regard to your leader (March 27), I was disappointed to read only destructive criticism of the UK Government’s response to the Iranian crisis.

If pusillanimity is a justifiable description, could it not be applied also to your failure to define “immediate and more drastic sanctions“?

BRIAN PETERS, Leigh, Lancs

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