Bigley possibly handed to new group

11.30pm

LONDON - British Iraq hostage Kenneth Bigley may have been handed over to a new group, his brother Paul says.

Bigley, a 62-year-old engineer, was seized 18 days ago with two Americans, both of whom were beheaded by their captors - the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an ally of al Qaeda.

"I am getting communiques from dear friends of mine - business friends and personal friends - who are based in Kuwait ... that Ken possibly, and I reiterate possibly, has been handed over from the political baddies to the regular baddies," Paul Bigley told Sky News.

He said he had also heard that those holding his brother would "like to negotiate a financial settlement."

Bigley said his information had originally come from a newspaper in Kuwait, which on Saturday reported that an Iraqi militant group was prepared to enter negotiations for the release of Kenneth Bigley.

The same newspaper accurately predicted the release of two Italian aid workers last week.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said could give no further information on Bigley's situation. "We have seen those reports and we are looking into them," he said.

To the agony of his family, video footage of a distressed-looking Bigley was released last week picturing him chained and squatting in a cage. He bitterly chided Prime Minister Tony Blair for not negotiating with his captors.

Blair has insisted his government will make no deals but has appealed for the hostage-takers to make contact.

Paul Bigley, who lives in Amsterdam, said he was now feeling more positive about the prospects for his brother.

"I am ... hanging onto this thread, hoping that it is true. If this horrible thing can be put to bed with a financial settlement then at least we are away from the political side of things which is absolutely horrible.

"We are not stopping until we get Ken home," he added.

Paul Bigley said on Saturday that intelligence officers had raided his home, copied data from his computer and forced him to make a five-page statement about his activities. But British and Dutch authorities later said no such raid had been carried out.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq