UK condemns 'barbaric' beheading of hostage

Downing Street today led condemnation of the video execution of an American businessman by militants linked to al-Qaida.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s official spokesman said of the film of Nick Berg’s killing: “This was a truly barbaric act and there is no justification for this kind of act in a civilised world.”

Mr Blair is expected to condemn the gruesome killing at Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Commons.

The poor quality video posted on an Islamic website showing the execution was also condemned by the Foreign Office as ``utterly repugnant and indefensible'' and the British Red Cross said it was "shocked and appalled''.

The chilling footage showed the beheading of Mr Berg by a group of five men wearing headscarfs and black ski masks.

The men said that the killing was to avenge the abuse of Iraqi detainees by US soldiers – widely predicted since the release of the pictures across the globe.

The video posted on the Ansar Islam Forum website – a known clearing house for statements by extremist Islamic groups – was entitled “Abu Musab al-Zarqawi slaughtering an American”.

Al-Zarqawi, a known associate of al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, has been blamed by the US for orchestrating terrorist attacks in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The video shows the executioners reading a statement before pulling the man to his side and putting a large knife to his neck. A scream is heard as they cut off his head, shouting “Allahu Akbar!” – “God is great”.

They then hold the head up in front of the camera.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey said: “The decapitation of that American is quite awful, barbaric.

“It needs to be condemned by everyone. I want to hear Muslim leaders around the world who I know repudiate that kind of action.”

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell said: “This is an act of undiluted barbarism which will fill every civilised person with horror.

“It only serves to emphasise just how dangerous Iraq has become for coalition forces including the British.”

The Bush administration vowed to track down the killers.

“It shows the true nature of the enemies of freedom. They have no regard for the lives of innocent men, women and children,” said White House Press secretary Scott McClellan.

“We will pursue those who are responsible and bring them to justice.”

Leigh Daynes, a spokesman for the British Red Cross, said: “If this has taken place, the Red Cross is shocked and appalled.

“The rules of war, of which the Red Cross is the guardian, apply to all belligerents in times of armed conflict and we would expect the rules of war to be observed at all times.

“This extends to the protection of innocent civilians caught up in conflict.”

Meanwhile, Lesley Warner, spokeswoman for Amnesty International, said: “If these pictures are proven to be true and accurate, this is clearly a very profound abuse of human rights.

“What we would wish to see is for a thorough investigation and for somebody to be brought to justice for this crime.”

Mr Blair was expected to come under fire today in the row over the Red Cross report detailing coalition human rights abuses in Iraq, with confusion over how much ministers knew, and when.

The premier’s spokesman said some were using the issue to try to drive a wedge between the UK and the US.

He said: “We are not going to allow people to try to drive divisions between us and our allies. Our goal is the same.

“The people who carried out the barbaric act say their goal is to make Iraq ungovernable – our goal is to create an Iraq in which Iraqis govern themselves and that’s what we will continue to do.

“It’s obvious there is a desire which is reflected in the media to try to drive a division between us and the US. That’s not going to be allowed to happen. We have to face the difficult situation in Iraq together and we will do so.”