Kenneth Bigley: Held in Iraq

A chained and caged Ken Bigley has appeared in a broadcast making a fresh appeal to the prime minister.

Bigley is being held in Iraq by Islamic militants who have already beheaded the Briton's two American colleagues and then released footage of the killings.

In the new footage, Bigley says: "Tony Blair is lying. He doesn't care about me. I'm just one person."

The hostage takers have demanded the release of all female Iraqi prisoners despite the fact Britain does not hold any, while the Americans only hold two women who are connected with the Saddam Hussein regime.

So far Number 10 has not commented on the broadcast in which Bigley begs Tony Blair to agree to his captors' conditions and says they do not want to kill him.

However deputy prime minister John Prescott said that Blair was "working like hell" to prevent "tragic circumstances".

The tape follows the release of two Italian women aid workers from captivity following an alleged ransom payment by their government.

The British government says it is trying to establish contact with Bigley's captors but one of the engineer's brothers, Paul, says they are not doing enough.

Liberal Democrat president Simon Hughes said: "I hope that those who are holding him will listen to the pleas of his family and the world.

"And I hope that the authorities in Iraq make their own independent decision on the women prisoners without pressure from America or anybody else about whether they should be released."