Britain 'will not pay ransom' for kidnapped couple

Sat Oct 31 2009 09:27:13

The Foreign Office has said Britain will not pay a £4.2m ransom to Somali pirates for the safe release of Paul and Rachel Chandler.

Diplomats said the Government would not make any "substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom".

Mr Chandler, 59, and his wife, 55, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured in the early hours of Friday when armed men boarded their yacht.

In a phone call, one of the pirates said: "If they do not harm us, we will not harm them - we only need a little amount of $7 million."

The ransom request came after Mrs Chandler broke down in tears during her first contact since being taken hostage by Somali pirates a week ago. She urged her family not to worry, saying she and husband Paul were "safe" and described their captors as "very hospitable people".

But the strain of being held at gunpoint since last Friday showed as Mrs Chandler broke down during a conversation with her brother Stephen Collett. Mr Chandler also sounded stressed during the phone call, which was broadcast on ITV News.

He spoke slowly and gave little away, in contrast to his calm demeanour when he made first contact with the outside world via the broadcaster on Friday.

Mrs Chandler told her brother: "Please don't worry about us, we're managing. I'm bearing up. Thank you for everything you're doing."

The couple were taken hostage as they sailed from the Seychelles towards Tanzania. They were forced to sail towards Somalia before being moved on to a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which was seized by the pirates earlier this month.

Mr Chandler told ITV News that he was aboard the Kota Wajar. His wife said they had been moved from the ship but was not able to say where they were being held.

A man who claimed to speak for the Somali kidnappers said the couple spent last night in the coastal town of Harardhere, a pirate stronghold.

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.