Rescued reporter slammed over risks
Questions have been raised over the death in Afghanistan of a paratrooper in a raid to free a kidnapped journalist who reportedly defied security advice not to go into the Taliban-controlled territory.
The soldier died in the daring pre-dawn operation to rescue New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell, 46, while Mr Farrell's interpreter Sultan Munadi was also killed.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the "courage" of the dead soldier, believed to be from 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, but the mission has reportedly provoked anger among senior Army officers because Mr Farrell apparently ignored warnings from Afghan police and village elders not to venture into the Taliban-controlled area where he was taken hostage.
The journalist, who holds joint Irish and British citizenship, was snatched with Mr Munadi last Saturday as he reported on the aftermath of a Nato air strike in which at least 70 people were killed.
They had travelled to the northern province of Kunduz to investigate reports of civilian deaths in the airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers.
One senior Army source told The Daily Telegraph: "When you look at the number of warnings this person had it makes you really wonder whether he was worth rescuing, whether it was worth the cost of a soldier's life.
"In the future, special forces might think twice in a similar situation."
Robin Horsfall, a former SAS officer, told Channel 4 News: "Some questions will be asked if a journalist has behaved in a reckless fashion and put them in this position. There's going to be some resentment."
On the death of the paratrooper, Kelvin MacKenzie, former editor of The Sun, told Sky News: "Was it worth it? No, it was not, in my opinion. When (journalists) defer common sense, they are on their own."
This is the second time Mr Farrell has been kidnapped. He was abducted at gunpoint near Fallujah in Iraq in April 2004 while on assignment for The Times.
