The 15 Royal Navy crewmembers held captive by Iran landed in London on Thursday. They were freed a day earlier by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in what he described as goodwill gesture to the UK.

The British military personnel, released by Iran after a tense two-week standoff, will later be reunited with relatives at a military base.

Before leaving Tehran, several of the crew spoke on Iranian television to express thanks for their release.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the homecoming would be "a profound relief" to the personnel and their families. He said the UK bear Iranian people no ill will, but stressed he will not be taken in by Iranian "political theatre".

The fifteen British Royal Navy sailors and marines were seized last month while conducting a routine inspection of a merchant vessel at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Iran said they had strayed into Iranian territorial waters, a claim which the UK vehemently denied.

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