THE Foreign Office on Saturday refused to discuss reports that Iraq hostage Ken Bigley managed to escape briefly before being recaptured and beheaded.
The Reuters news agency quoted "insurgent sources" as saying Mr Bigley managed to get away for about half an hour with the help of one of his captors, before he was recaptured in farmland near the town of Latifiya, south-west of Baghdad.
The murder of the hostage, confirmed by his family in Liverpool on Friday, has shocked the world.
The people of Liverpool are observing an official day of mourning for Mr Bigley on Saturday.
Flags were at half-mast at the town hall, municipal buildings and St George's Hall in the city centre.
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