'Ken will be spared'

The brother of British hostage Ken Bigley has claimed to have received written confirmation that the Briton will be spared in a communique released in the Middle East.

Paul Bigley said a translation of the message had been passed to him and offered the family new hope that the 62-year-old will be released alive.

"There has been a communique released from the Arab world which has been translated into English and which I have a copy of and have circulated to the best people I know," Mr Bigley told ITV News.

"It is not just a typical communique, it is so intricately put together in the language and format that I am 90% sure that the contents are true.

"The contents are a lot of political details, condemning this and condemning that, but the bottom line is that Ken will be spared.

"There is also a warning that Britain will have to pay attention in the future."

The Foreign Office confirmed it is continuing to check several messages and postings on internet websites which claimed the hostage could be released "imminently".

A spokesman said work was under way to authenticate the claims but he admitted it is a complex process.

"It is difficult to establish the veracity of the claims because you can never know if these are the work of someone making fun of the situation in an internet cafe or if they are genuine," he said.

"We are treating the messages very seriously as we must do with all possible communications in this situation."