The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces, the Rt Rev Tom Burns, has welcomed Iran's surprise release of the 15 British sailors and marines on Wednesday.

The sailors arrived back in Britain on Thursday after meeting with the Iranian President on their release yesterday. They had been held captive in Iran for two weeks for allegedly intruding on Iranian waters.

Bishop Burns said their release was a "satisfactory end" to the diplomatic crisis and commended Iran for acting on the principle of forgiveness even though its accusations over the violation of Iran's territorial waters remain disputed.

He said the outcome of the captivity demonstrated that there was "a goodness within mankind that can triumph over every difficulty" and that he hoped it would encourage nations to "share the limited resources available in this world for the benefit of all".

The 15 military personnel landed at Heathrow airport at 12.02pm where they posed for pictures before being transported by two military helicopters to a Royal Marine base at Chivenor in Devon to be reunited with their families and take part in a debriefing.

Their return to the UK follows Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's abrupt announcement on Wednesday that he would release the sailors as a "gift" to the British people.

Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed their release, saying Britain had taken a "firm but calm" approach to the crisis.