Appeal for missing BBC reporter

The father of a BBC journalist who is feared to have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip has appealed for his release.

According to reports, Alan Johnston disappeared exactly a week ago after being snatched by four masked gunmen in a white Subaru in Gaza City.

The 44-year-old is said to have thrown his business card on to the street as he was being taken away.

Officials from the Hamas-led government have claimed the BBC correspondent was abducted by a "well-known" group for a ransom.

His father Graham, speaking from the family home in Argyll, said: "I'd like to start by thanking the people that have been trying to get Alan released, the BBC and Foreign Office.

"Three years ago Alan told us that he had applied for the post of correspondent in Gaza. He felt the Palestinian story had to be told. It was a piece of the Middle East jigsaw."

He said that after two years reporting in Gaza, his son asked the BBC if he could spend another 12 months there as he enjoyed his job and had made friends with many Palestinians, although he had warned his parents there was a risk of abduction.

Mr Johnston appealed to anyone who might have taken his son, saying: "It is no way to treat a friend of Palestinians.

"All I can say to the men who are holding Alan is please let my son go now, today."

More than a dozen foreign journalists and aid workers have been abducted in Gaza, with most released unharmed within hours.

Mr Johnston is from Scotland, where his parents still live at Lochgoilhead, Argyll.

He joined the BBC's World Service newsroom in 1991 and has also reported from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.