Hostage killing: Grisly confirmation that Mr Kenneth Bigley had indeed been murdered by his abductors came last night in a video recording given to an Arabic television news channel in the Gulf state of Abu Dhabi.
The tape was understood to show Mr Bigley kneeling in front of six hooded and armed men, whom one person who viewed the tape said were recognisable from two previous tapes released by his kidnappers.
One of the six then spoke in Arabic for about a minute. He said he planned to carry out "the sentence of execution against this hostage" because the British government "did not meet our demand" to release Iraqi women detained by US-led forces in Iraq.
The man then took a knife from his belt and severed Mr Bigley's head as three others held him down. The tape ends with the killer holding up the severed head for the camera.
Abu Dhabi TV took the principled decision not to show any part of the tape. "Abu Dhabi television has received a tape of the unfortunate killing of the British hostage in Iraq, Kenneth Bigley.
"The station took an editorial decision not to show such footage," it said in a statement.
"Abu Dhabi TV refuses to serve as a mouthpiece for such groups or their actions. Abu Dhabi TV extends its sincere condolences to Mr Bigley's family and renews its condolences to the families of all those killed in Iraq," it said.
Sources in Falluja said yesterday that Mr Bigley was killed on Thursday afternoon in Latifiya, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. US and Iraqi forces are conducting a sweep of the area. They said last night that no body had been found.
Mr Bigley (62), who had been working as an engineer for a Gulf-based construction company, was kidnapped along with two Americans by members of the Tawhid and Jihad group three weeks ago.
The group, led by terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, demanded the release of all female prisoners in US custody.
The two Americans - Mr Eugene Armstrong (52), and Mr Jack Hensley (48), - were beheaded a few days later.
The fact that Mr Bigley was not murdered with them raised hopes that he might be released.
Two videos were posted on an Islamic website showing Mr Bigley begging Mr Tony Blair to intervene to save his life. Following the killing of the Americans, the Iraqi government announced it would release one of two women prisoners currently held by the US authorities a move promptly rejected by US officials.
The release of two Italian aid workers early last week prompted speculation the group behind their kidnapping would "buy" back Mr Bigley from the Zarqawi network and release him for a ransom.
Iraq's interim Prime Minister, Mr Iyad Allawi, condemned the murder of Mr Bigley and vowed to bring his killers to justice.
"This is a horrible, barbaric act," said Mr Allawi. "We are determined to pursue those terrorists who killed Mr Bigley and put them on trial as soon as possible." Mr Allawi said there had been intense efforts to secure the release of Mr Bigley but no attempt to rescue him by force.
Asked if he knew why the kidnappers had chosen to kill Mr Bigley at this time, he said: "Their intention from the start was to kill him, but they were trying to exploit this matter for a long time for publicity. Their intention was to kill him."