quote:
As for operational intel, well of course you do not give that up
And this is the main thing. No national secrets were traded (afaik). If the British navy personnel did commit a crime, it’s only on par with the crime of telling a child that their dead pet hamster has gone on holiday. The captured Britons were forced into telling a pointless lie that can be exposed as such anyway. No harm done, except for offending the odd Jingo Joe in America.