BBC Online :
The murder of David Haines was an “act of pure evil”, David Cameron has said after the release of a video appearing to show the UK hostage’s beheading.
The 44-year-old aid worker was seized in Syria in 2013. He was being held by Islamic State militants who have already killed two US captives.
The latest video also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage.
The PM vowed to do everything possible to find the killers. Mr Haines’s family said he would be “missed terribly”.
Born in Holderness, East Yorkshire, Mr Haines went to school in Perth and had been living in Croatia with his second wife, who is Croatian, and their four-year-old daughter. His parents live in Ayr.
In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Mike Haines said his brother, a father of two, “was and is loved by all his family”.
“David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles. His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair,” he said.
Mr Cameron, who is due to chair an emergency Cobra committee meeting later, said the murder of an innocent aid worker was “despicable and appalling”.
“It is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal.
“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes,” the prime minister added.
The Foreign Office is working to verify the video, which was released on Saturday night. It begins with a clip of Mr Cameron and then features a man who appears to be Mr Haines dressed in orange overalls, kneeling in front of a masked man holding a knife.
The victim says: “My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution.”
He says Mr Cameron had entered into a coalition with the US against the Islamic State “just as your predecessor Tony Blair did”.
“Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our parliament’s selfish decisions,” he said.
The militant, who appears to have a British accent, is then recorded as saying: “This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State.”
The murder of David Haines was an “act of pure evil”, David Cameron has said after the release of a video appearing to show the UK hostage’s beheading.
The 44-year-old aid worker was seized in Syria in 2013. He was being held by Islamic State militants who have already killed two US captives.
The latest video also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage.
The PM vowed to do everything possible to find the killers. Mr Haines’s family said he would be “missed terribly”.
Born in Holderness, East Yorkshire, Mr Haines went to school in Perth and had been living in Croatia with his second wife, who is Croatian, and their four-year-old daughter. His parents live in Ayr.
In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Mike Haines said his brother, a father of two, “was and is loved by all his family”.
“David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles. His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair,” he said.
Mr Cameron, who is due to chair an emergency Cobra committee meeting later, said the murder of an innocent aid worker was “despicable and appalling”.
“It is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal.
“We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes,” the prime minister added.
The Foreign Office is working to verify the video, which was released on Saturday night. It begins with a clip of Mr Cameron and then features a man who appears to be Mr Haines dressed in orange overalls, kneeling in front of a masked man holding a knife.
The victim says: “My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you, David Cameron, entirely responsible for my execution.”
He says Mr Cameron had entered into a coalition with the US against the Islamic State “just as your predecessor Tony Blair did”.
“Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our parliament’s selfish decisions,” he said.
The militant, who appears to have a British accent, is then recorded as saying: “This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State.”
