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Body 'is British Iraq hostage' Body 'is British Iraq hostage'
(about 1 hour later)
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he is "deeply saddened" that a body believed to be a British hostage has been passed to authorities in Iraq.Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he is "deeply saddened" that a body believed to be a British hostage has been passed to authorities in Iraq.
The prime minister's spokesman said efforts were now under way to "urgently establish identity".The prime minister's spokesman said efforts were now under way to "urgently establish identity".
Five British men were taken captive in Baghdad in July 2007.Five British men were taken captive in Baghdad in July 2007.
The families of hostages Alan McMenemy and Alec MacLachlan, who worked as security guards in Iraq, had previously been told they are "very likely" dead. The families of hostages Alan McMenemy, from Glasgow, and Alec MacLachlan, from South Wales, had previously been told they are "very likely" to be dead.
The bodies of two men who were shot dead, fellow security guards Jason Swindlehurst and Jason Creswell, have already been released. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said it was believed the body belonged to one of the two men and, in that sense, the news would not come as a big surprise.
In a statement, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he believed remaining hostage Peter Moore - an IT consultant - was still alive. The bodies of two men who were shot dead, fellow security guards Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, of Glasgow, have already been released.
In a statement, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he believed remaining hostage Peter Moore - an IT consultant from Lincoln - was still alive.
'Extremely difficult''Extremely difficult'
However, Mr Miliband said it was not possible to "definitively confirm" either that the body was a hostage or to whom it belonged.However, Mr Miliband said it was not possible to "definitively confirm" either that the body was a hostage or to whom it belonged.
But he added: "My thoughts and those of all of my colleagues in government are, of course, with the families of the British men kidnapped in Iraq.But he added: "My thoughts and those of all of my colleagues in government are, of course, with the families of the British men kidnapped in Iraq.
"We are determined to keep this period of uncertainty for the families to a minimum.""We are determined to keep this period of uncertainty for the families to a minimum."
I renew my call, on behalf of the British government and the British people, to those holding the hostages to return them to their loved ones David MilibandForeign Secretary
Mr Miliband said he would make a further announcement "in due course" once the body had been formally identified and the families of all the hostages had been informed.Mr Miliband said he would make a further announcement "in due course" once the body had been formally identified and the families of all the hostages had been informed.
He said: "I renew my call, on behalf of the British government and the British people, to those holding the hostages to return them to their loved ones."
Mr Brown's spokesman said: "The prime minister's thoughts are with their families at this extremely difficult time.Mr Brown's spokesman said: "The prime minister's thoughts are with their families at this extremely difficult time.
"He will leave no stone unturned in the government's efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages.""He will leave no stone unturned in the government's efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages."
Diplomatic moves
Mr Moore had been working for US management consultancy Bearingpoint in Iraq. The other men were security contractors employed to guard him.
The group was captured at Baghdad's Ministry of Finance in May 2007 by about 40 men disguised as Iraqi policemen.
The captors were understood to belong to an obscure militia known as Islamic Shia Resistance in Iraq, which has demanded the release of up to nine of their associates held in US military custody since early 2007.
Security experts understood there had been positive diplomatic moves behind the scenes, including the release of a prisoner - whose freedom was being demanded by the hostage-takers - from detention by the Americans.
The Foreign Office insists the British government has not been directly involved in negotiations and that the Iraqi authorities have been acting as lead negotiator.
Little is known about the captives because of a media blackout during a large period of their captivity.
It originally came on the instruction of the hostage-takers who said they did not want publicity.
The hostage crisis has been Britain's longest for nearly 20 years.