A British couple taken hostage when Chechen gunmen stormed a Moscow theatre have been reunited after the 58-hour siege ended in a dramatic rescue bid by Russian special forces.

Sixty seven hostages in the Moscow theatre crisis have been killed.

The 23-year-old leader of the Moscow hostage-takers is the nephew of a Chechen warlord reportedly paid £20m by Osama bin Laden to execute four engineers.

Negotiations between Russian officials and Chechen gunman in a Moscow theatre were launched again today after four mediators waving a white flag entered the building to seek an end to the desperate standoff.

Chechen guerrillas holding up to 700 hostages in a Moscow theatre have reportedly offered to release several Westerners.