British Muslim group believes Bigley still alive

A delegation of British Muslims who travelled to Iraq to press for the release of hostage Ken Bigley said today they were confident the engineer was still alive.

As the family of Mr Bigley desperately waited for news 13 days after his capture in Baghdad, the Muslim Council of Britain said their trip had created “tremendous goodwill on the ground”.

Dr Daud Abdullah and Dr Musharraf Hussain left for Iraq on Friday and returned to the UK at 2pm today.

Although some people criticised the brevity of their visit, the delegation insisted it had been a worthwhile trip.

Speaking about the fate of Mr Bigley, Dr Abdullah said: “I have no proof that he is dead, as long as there is no proof I believe that he is alive. People (in Iraq) share the view that he is alive.”