LONDON - A special forces raid to free a kidnapped journalist which left a paratrooper dead was yesterday criticised amid claims negotiators had been close to a breakthrough.
Afghan journalists criticised the high-risk rescue which freed British reporter Stephen Farrell but left four others dead.
Mr Farrell's Afghan interpreter Sultan Munadi was killed along with the unnamed soldier and two civilians - reportedly a woman and a child.
The order to strike was not taken by British prime minister Gordon Brown, his spokesman stressed today.
Mr Brown was consulted, but only after defence secretary Bob Ainsworth and foreign secretary David Miliband had given the mission the go-ahead. Downing Street also defended the operation, saying it provided the "best chance of protecting life".
The prime minister's spokesman was commenting amid the claims in Kabul by the Media Club of Afghanistan that negotiators had been close to freeing Mr Farrell, without the need for military intervention.
They also criticised the soldiers as "inhumane" for having left Mr Munadi's body behind while they rescued Farrell. - (PA)