Bigley video raises family's hopes

The hopes of the family of British hostage Kenneth Bigley have been raised by the new video shown shackled and behind bars in which he claimed his captors do not want to kill him.

The 62-year-old, who appeared to be kneeling inside a cage and was seen weeping on the tape, screened on Arab TV station Al-Jazeera.

He was dressed in an orange jumpsuit – similar to those worn by American prisoners at Guantanamo Bay – and had a metal chain draped around his neck and both his hands and feet bound.

Mr Bigley’s brother Paul said the video further raises hopes after a statement released in the Middle East last night said he would be spared. He said today: “He looks unwell but he’s alive and he’s not a broken man.”

Paul said the family will be comforted by the fact that he still appears to be alive. "He is obviously an afraid man and he is worn out. His faculties are all there but he is worn out,” said Mr Bigley.

A spokeswoman for Downing Street said they would not be commenting on the latest video appeal by Mr Bigley.

News of the communique followed Tony Blair’s assurance that the British government is attempting to make contact with the Tawhid wal Jihad group.

Mr Blair said: “The difficulty is that we are trying to make contact with this particular group, because these are outside people, they are not Iraqis … they are outside terrorist groups, and we are trying to make contact with them and we are doing everything we possibly can.”

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, which sent a delegation to Iraq last week calling for Mr Bigley's release, said the video message was a great sign, but added a note of caution.

He said: “This is wonderful news and appears to confirm the messages our delegation received at the weekend.

He said the council had posted adverts in Baghdad’s two main newspapers calling for Mr Bigley’s safe release. It gives added hope that he is still alive. This video means the efforts to secure his release must not now slow. They must be intensified.”

The new footage of Mr Bigley emerged hours after two Italian aid workers were released after being kidnapped in Baghdad.