The British journalist freed from Taliban captivity by Nato special forces had ignored "very strong advice" by travelling to the area of Afghanistan where he was kidnapped, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, said today.
The pre-dawn raid on Wednesday to free the New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell left four people dead, including his Afghan translator, Sultan Munadi, and a British paratrooper, Corporal John Harrison.
Miliband told the BBC that Farrell was "obviously on the one hand very brave and on the other hand he went against very strong advice that it was extremely dangerous to be in that area".
Senior army sources said they were furious that special forces were called in to rescue the journalist because he apparently ignored warnings from Afghan police and village elders not to venture into the Taliban-controlled area where he was taken hostage.
"The military feel aggrieved," a defence official said. "It is a genuine issue. This is a bloke given specific advice not to go there and he chose to ignore it."
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