Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on Thursday told the family of British hostage Ken Bigley the Government is doing "everything we possibly can" to secure his release.
Straw earlier said there would be no negotiations with the captors.
Straw issued a statement after meeting Bigley's brother Philip and son Craig. "I conveyed to them the strong support of the British Government," the statement said.
"I want to pay tribute to them and their family for their great dignity and strength. They have shown remarkable fortitude under pressures which are hard to imagine.
"I have assured Craig and Philip that we are doing everything we possibly can.
"And I said I wished to associate myself wholeheartedly with their moving statement yesterday, in which they said the decision to release Kenneth Bigley rests with his captors, and in which they asked for mercy to be shown." (albawaba.com)
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