Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, faces uproar in the Commons after approving the decision to let detained sailors and Marines make money by selling their stories to the media.

It unleashed a bidding war by chequebook journalists in a week when six British servicemen and women had been killed in Iraq.

Permission is rarely granted for serving members of the military to make money from their endeavours, although an exception is made for acts of valour. Private Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, was allowed to sign a deal for his autobiography.

The Ministry of Defence said that the Royal Navy had lifted its usual ban on selling stories because of “exceptional media interest”.

The MoD said: “Queen’s Regulations for the Royal Navy allow personnel to retain fees paid to them for broadcasting, lecturing or writing for publication under certain circumstances and the Navy’s judgement was that in this particular instance this was such a case.

“It is a fact that the media have been making direct contact with the families and offering them significant sums of money – this is not something that the Navy and the MoD have any control over.

“It was therefore decided to grant permission to speak to the media to those who sought it, in order to ensure that the Navy and the MoD had sight of what they were going to say – as well as providing proper media support.”

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: “If, whenever people have been in a difficult situation, they are going to be allowed to sell their story quickly after that, then I think we are going to lose steadily that dignity and respect for our Armed Forces.

“There are incredible acts of heroism being performed on a weekly, daily basis, but they are not written about.

“Once you start saying, ‘Well, you can do in this case’, then why can’t you in others?”

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