Straw vow to Iraq hostage family

Ken Bigley was shown sobbing behind bars

The government is doing everything it possibly can to help free hostage Ken Bigley, foreign secretary Jack Straw told his family on Thursday.

After a 50-minute meeting with Mr Bigley's son and brother Mr Straw said they had shown "remarkable fortitude" under unimaginable pressures.

Downing Street earlier stressed that the government's position of not negotiating with terrorists remained.

Tony Blair said he would talk to the kidnappers but not give in to demands.

The prime minister's comments followed the release of a video showing Mr Bigley caged, and again pleading for help.

Following Thursday's meeting with Mr Bigley's brother Philip, 49, and son Craig, 33, at the Foreign Office Mr Straw said: "I have assured Craig and Philip that we are doing everything we possibly can.

A terrorist is not going to pick up the phone and call you Paul Bigley One hostage's torment Bigley family appeal

"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."

Earlier Tony Blair said he felt "absolutely sickened" by the situation and said he would talk to the hostage takers if they contacted him.

He told the BBC: "If you take a situation here in this country, if a hostage is taken and the police turn up, they will talk to the people who are holding the hostage.

"They are not going to give in to the hostage takers' demands, that's a different matter all together, that would be completely wrong."

Another brother of Ken Bigley's, Paul, welcomed Mr Blair's comments but said he had "political handcuffs" on.

'Minute by minute'

"A terrorist is not going to pick up the phone and call you, it is just not going to happen," he said.

Speaking on BBC News 24 before his meeting with Jack Straw, Philip Bigley said the family had been "thrown into this nightmare" but had no other option but to handle it and would not give up hope.

"We are taking it minute by minute," he said.

The family had this week endured the release of another video appeal by Ken Bigley, 62, shown on al-Jazeera television on Wednesday.

"My life is cheap. He (Tony Blair) doesn't care about me," he was heard to say.

He called on Mr Blair to meet the demands of his kidnappers to free female prisoners in Iraq and said his captors did not want to kill him.

TIMELINE 16 Sept: Two Americans and Ken Bigley taken hostage 18 Sept: All three appear in video with captors 20 Sept: American Eugene Armstrong beheaded 21 Sept: American Jack Hensley beheaded 22 Sept: Ken Bigley appears on video, appealing for help from Tony Blair 29 Sept: Second video plea made by Bigley Kenneth Bigley's appeal Adams plea for UK hostage

The video comes as dozens of people have been killed in bomb attacks on coalition troops in Baghdad, and US air strikes in Falluja have killed at least three people.

Al-Jazeera also claimed on Thursday that 10 more hostages had also been seized in Iraq.

Iraq interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who is currently in London, called for the kidnappers to free Mr Bigley, saying it was "repugnant" to use the engineer as a "political pawn".

He said: "The anguish and pain inflicted on his family and friends is indescribable."

Mr Bigley was taken hostage by the hardline Tawhid and Jihad group along with the two American colleagues.

He has appeared in videos before, including on 22 September when he pleaded for his life.

The two Americans hostages have been beheaded.