Blair giving 'kiss of death'

2004-09-27 09:58

London - The brother of Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage being held in Iraq, said on Monday that Prime Minister Tony Blair should resign.

"Tony Blair is a gentleman and a statesman," Paul Bigley told the BBC, but he added: "I think his sell-by date has gone and he has to go. There has to be a change of face, a change of policy, a change of dialogue."

"He has not got the credibility to negotiate the purchase of a bicycle," he added.

Blair has said his government is doing everything it "properly" can to secure Kenneth Bigley's release, but hasn't indicated any shift in his policy of refusing to negotiate with kidnappers.

Paul Bigley has urged Blair to make a personal plea for Kenneth Bigley's release, saying silence from the prime minister would be "the kiss of death" for the hostage.

"I truly believe my brother is alive. I want him home and I will not stop until the boy is home," he said. "Ken will come home to us all. Ken is only a little person in this whole affair."

Kenneth Bigley, 62, and two American colleagues were kidnapped from their home in Baghdad last week.

Both Americans have been beheaded, and gruesome videos made by the kidnappers have appeared on the internet.

The group claiming responsibility for the abduction has demanded the release of female Iraqi prisoners at American-controlled prisons - a move US officials have ruled out.

A man who identified himself as Ken Bigley appeared on a videotape posted on an Islamic website on Wednesday weeping and pleading for Blair to help save his life.

- AP