Kidnappings

John McCarthy (right) and Brian Keenan were kidnapped in Beirut in 1986

In a HARDtalk interview on 16th August, Sarah Montague speaks to former British hostage John McCarthy on the 13th anniversary of his release.

Since April there has been a spate of kidnappings in Iraq.

Some 90 foreigners there have been taken.

Ten have been killed, and 19 still remain missing.

John McCarthy says that every time he hears about it happening he feels sick.

"I think oh my God, and I feel sick just remembering what it's like, remembering that moment when you've been bundled into the back of a car or a truck and somebody puts a cloth over your face and you can't see the world any more, and you're not going to get to that meeting, to that party, to wherever you were going. Suddenly you're completely out of control and you're in someone else's control".

His best advice to governments was to try and outflank the kidnappers and get close to the rest of their community, to other leaders who aren't interested in taking the kidnapping route.

Mr McCarthy and another hostage, Brian Keenan, were kidnapped by Islamic militants in Beirut in 1986.

He was held hostage for nearly 2,000 days.

Mr McCarthy admits he's still angry with the way Margaret Thatcher used their kidnap to make personal political capital, and he's still angry that journalists were led to believe that he was dead.

HARDtalk can be seen on BBC World at 03:30 GMT, 08:30 GMT, 11:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT, 18:30 GMT and 23:30 GMT

It can also be seen on BBC News 24 at 04:30 and 23:30