Iran on Friday broadcast TV footage of a captured British marine apologising for entering Iranian waters “without permission,” drawing fire from Prime Minister Tony Blair who said Tehran's manipulation of the detainee “doesn't fool anyone.”

The serviceman, Royal Marine rifleman Nathan Thomas Summers, was shown sitting with another serviceman and the female British sailor Faye Turney against a pink floral curtain. Both men wore camouflage fatigues with a label saying “Royal Navy” on their chests and a small British flag stitched to their left sleeves. Turney wore a blue jumpsuit and a black headscarf.

The three were among 15 British sailors and marines detained by naval units of the Revolutionary Guards on March 23 while patrolling near the Shatt al-Arab waterway for smugglers. “We trespassed without permission,” Summers said, adding he knew that Iran had seized British military personnel who strayed into their waters three years ago.

“This happened back in 2004 and our government said that it wouldn't happen again,” Summers said. “And, again, I deeply apologise for entering your waters.”

Blair said he could not understand why Iran had aired the clip, the second broadcast of the detained British sailors and marines in three days. “Captured personnel being paraded and manipulated in this way, it doesn't fool anyone,” Blair said. “The Iranians have to realise is that if they continue in this way, they will face continued isolation,” he added.

In Bremen, Germany, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said a letter from Iran on the detention of 15 British sailors and marines had done nothing to bring the standoff over their capture to a close. “There is nothing in the letter to suggest that the Iranians are looking for a way out,” Beckett said in a BBC interview.

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