Kim Howells tells of joy and anger as Iraq hostage freed
Source: Wales online
Dec 31 2009 by James McCarthy, Western Mail
FREED hostage Peter Moore was last night looking forward to being reunited with his family after being held for two-and-a-half years by Iraqi insurgents.
Computer expert Peter Moore, 36, was kidnapped along with his four British bodyguards at the finance ministry in Baghdad on May 29, 2007.
There were reports last night, some quoting what they said were military sources, that the men had been held in Iran in an operation masterminded by that country’s Revolutionary Guard.
Former Foreign Office minister Kim Howells was central in trying to get Mr Moore and his four bodyguards – including executed 30-year-old Alec MacLachlan of Llanelli – released.
Last night he was overjoyed Mr Moore was going home, but remained bitter about the “heinous” crimes his captors committed.
The Pontypridd MP said: “I don’t know of any hostage situation where so much energy and resources were used in trying to locate and get them out of there.
“Like many hostage situations it was made more complicated because you may get half-a-dozen groups claiming they have the hostages, people trying to gain political kudos or gangsters trying to get money.
“We had agents in very dangerous places trying to make contacts and sift through claims and counter claims to figure out who might know these guys.
“[Alec MacLachlan’s family] know better than anyone they can never bring Alec back. But they must feel a sense of joy that Peter has been released.
“These are people who have endured the most terrible suffering. Kidnapping is one of the most heinous crimes. It is very difficult for anyone who has not been through it to try and imagine what it is like.”
The former National Mineworkers’ Union official added: “I’m overjoyed Peter Moore has been released. I feel very angry and bitter that these gangsters have murdered four brave young men.
“It is very difficult to understand why they decided to murder his bodyguards but not to kill him.
“Whatever their reasons it is very difficult to understand it, and even more difficult to forgive them for what they have done.
“They have committed the most dreadful crimes. Not just against the men they have murdered but against the families of those young men.”
Fears for Mr Moore’s safety had grown after the bodies of three of the security guards were handed to the UK authorities.
They were Alec MacLachlan, Jason Swindlehurst, 38, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, 39, of Glasgow.
The Foreign Office believes the fourth – Glaswegian Alan McMenemy – has also been killed.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Mr Moore was in “good health” at the British Embassy in Baghdad after being delivered to Iraqi authorities yesterday morning.
Mr Moore’s mother Avril Sweeney said his release had lifted “a big black cloud”. Speaking from her home in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, the 54-year-old said the years of his imprisonment had been “horrendous” and news of his release yesterday had been “a huge shock”.
Mr Moore’s father Graeme, 60, from Wigston, Leicestershire, said he was “over the moon”.
“We are so relieved and we just want to get him home, back now to his family and friends. I’m breaking down, I’m just so overjoyed for the lad. It’s been such a long haul.”
In a phone call Mr Moore asked stepfather Fran Sweeney about the fate of his bodyguards.
He told him: “We’ll talk about it with you Peter when we see you.”
Home Secretary David Miliband said he was “delighted” by Mr Moore’s release.
“Peter is in good health despite many months of captivity. He is undergoing medical checks and he is going to be reunited with his family as soon as possible.
“He is obviously – to put it mildly – delighted at his release.”
He added: “My thoughts today are also with the families of Jason Swindlehurst, Jason Creswell and Alec MacLachlan.”
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