|TOP|Christians have expressed shock and sadness at the kidnapping of British Professor Norman Kember who went missing in Baghdad on 26 November along with one American and two Canadians.

Mr Kember and the three other men were working with Christian Peacemakers Team who released a statement in which the organisation expressed its sadness at the kidnappings of its workers.

“We were very saddened to see the images of our loved ones on Al Jazeera television recently,” read the statement.

It added: “We pray that those who hold them will be merciful and that they will be released soon. We want so much to see their faces in our home again, and we want them to know how much we love them, how much we miss them, and how anxious and concerned we are by what is happening to them.”

|PIC1|The other missing men are Tom Fox, 54, from Virginia, USA, James Loney, 41, from Toronto, Canada and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a Canadian electrical engineer.

The Baptist Union of Great Britain also released a statement in response to the news of Professor Kember’s kidnapping.

“Professor Norman Kember has been a consistent campaigner on peace issues all his life, and he travelled to Iraq as a peace activist. He is a long standing member of the Baptist Peace Fellowship and of College Road Baptist Church in Harrow, and our prayers are with his wife and family at this time.'

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, “We are working on the basis it is a kidnapping”, adding that the UK has a ‘clear and consistent’ policy not to pay ransoms. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it would be in touch with the Iraqi authorities and the other countries involved, and as well as launch an urgent investigation.

|QUOTE|Speaking of his plans to travel to Iraq in an interview with Premier Radio before travelling to Iraq, Professor Kember said: “It’s a gesture of solidarity with Christian peacemaker teams in Iraq. I hope to meet ordinary Iraqis of various backgrounds, Shiates, Sunni, Christians and just hear their stories, then come back and talk about it.”

His wife, Pat Kember, speaking from their home in Pinner said: “People are being very, very good to me and I’m being supported.”