McAleese will not intervene in Bigley case

The President, Mrs Mary McAleese, has sent a message of support to the family of Mr Kenneth Bigley, but will not be involved in efforts to secure his release.

Mr Bigley's brother Paul appealed to Mrs McAleese at the weekend to add her voice to those of other senior Irish politicians urging his release.

"It wouldn't be a matter the President would normally intervene in, although she has sent a personal message of support to the Bigley family through the Irish ambassador in Britain," a spokeswoman for Mrs McAleese told ireland.com.She said the President had not received any correspondence from the Bigley family.

The spokeswoman said it would be "more appropriate" for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, to act on behalf of the Irish Government in its efforts to broker the release of Mr Bigley. Mr Ahern said he is engaging with the Jordanian government to make representations on Ireland's behalf.

Mr Bigley (62), a British contractor, is entitled to an Irish passport because his mother, Elizabeth, was born in Ireland. She originally lived in Ticknock, Co Dublin, before moving to Liverpool.

Mr Bigley was captured in Iraq along with two US workers by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group last month. The two American hostages have since been beheaded by the group, which is linked to al-Qaeda.

Last week, the Taoiseach and the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, made appeals on al-Jazeera television for the captors to free Mr Bigley. Mr Ahern said he was an "ordinary working man" who did not deserve to be harmed in any way.

Mr Adams pointed out that the majority of people in Ireland were against the invasion of Iraq. "I am not here to lecture to people or to dictate to people," he said. "But I believe that the cause of those who hold Mr Bigley can be better advanced if they are magnanimous and generous and release him."

The Labour party foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Michael D. Higgins, has been in contact with the Palestinian Authority asking President Yasser Arafat to help secure Mr Bigleys' freedom.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former SDLP leader Mr John Hume also made an appeal after being approached by the Bigley family.

An Iraqi cleric was quoted today on the Islam Online website as saying Mr Bigley's captors were "seeking clarification" on his Irish ancestry. Imam Syed al-Kareem said he met Mr Bigley in a Baghdad suburb yesterday and described him as being in good health.

"The captors have asked for clarification of his Irish heritage . . . the captors clearly stated to me that they have no fight with the Irish people, but were unsure if he was an Irishman or English and are seeking clarification," he said.

"The Irish have fought like us to wipe the stain of English Imperialism, murder and rape from their lands" the Imam added, quoting the hostage takers.