Faye Turney human face of Iran-Britain crisis

By Deborah Haynes and Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters) - Mother, wife and Royal Navy sailor Faye Turney has become the human face of a crisis between Britain and Iran over the detention of 15 British military personnel that has turned into a media show.

Turney was propelled into the spotlight on Wednesday when Iran broadcast an interview with the 26-year-old, wearing the headscarf worn traditionally by many women in the Muslim world and smoking a cigarette.

She offered a poignant image on television - with eyes cast down and blonde hair tucked into a black hijab, she acknowledged "trespassing" in Iranian waters last week and apologised for the incident.

British tabloids trumpeted their disgust at what they saw as a coerced "confession" and pure Iranian propaganda. "A British mother paraded on state TV. Forced to wear the hijab," The Daily Mail wrote.

After watching the television clips of Turney, body language expert Robert Phipps said: "Her tone was very monosyllabic and it was delivered in a slow format. The eyes were cast down and to the left which showed she is feeling stress.

"She singled herself out by being the only woman there and the Iranians made hay with that. She has been forced to wear a hijab and does not look comfortable," he told Reuters.

Defence analyst Charles Heyman said: "It does tug at the heartstrings and is very different to the picture of a tough marine. We are not the masters of spin. The Iranians are good at public relations campaigns and spin."

Heyman said Iran was aiming at a different audience: "They are saying they don't really feel that women should be in a frontline operation in the armed forces. They are playing to Muslim sensibilities."