Freed British hostage is reunited with family

A Briton freed this week after being kidnapped in Iraq in 2007 flew home yesterday for a reunion with his family, officials said, as controversy over his ordeal refused to die down.

Peter Moore, a computer expert, was released unharmed Wednesday after two-and-a-half years' captivity during which all four of his bodyguards, also Britons, are thought to have been killed.

The 36-year-old's flight touched down at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, northwest of London, shortly after 5p.m. (1700 GMT), a spokesman for the Foreign Office in London said.

Mr Moore was met by officials before boarding a people carrier to be reunited with his family off-base.

His father, Graeme Moore, said he was "absolutely delighted" at his return, saying: "I want to give him a big hug when I see him... Me and his friends can't wait to see him and it's just a massive relief to get him home."

Mr Moore's step-parents Fran and Pauline Sweeney appealed for privacy.

"We are thrilled to have Peter back safely. We have a lot of catching up to do and would like to have time with Peter on our own," they said.

Mr Moore is reportedly going to be sent to a safe house for assessments by doctors and psychiatrists and help in readjusting to normal life.

Relatives of Mr Moore and of the guards captured with him have meanwhile spoken of their anger at the British government's handling of the matter.

The bodies of three bodyguards - Alec MacLachlan, 30, Jason Swin-dlehurst, 38, and Jason Creswell, 39 - were handed over to British officials last year. A fourth, Alan McMenemy, 34, is also believed to be dead.

Mr McMenemy's father Dennis accused the Foreign Office of "deceit, lies and cover-up" while Mr Moore's mother Avril Sweeney said the government had "never told the truth", The Guardian reported.

The paper said on Thursday that Iran's Revolutionary Guard led the kidnap operation and took the five to Iran within a day of their abduction.

General David Petraeus, the US regional military commander, reiterated to reporters in Baghdad yesterday that Mr Moore spent "at the very least" part of his time in captivity in Iran.

"That is based on an intelligence assessment and obviously I've not had a chance to hear it, certainly not to talk to him, but nor to hear anything that he has said," General Petraeus said.

Some commentators said a deal may have been done to free Mr Moore after Qais al-Khazali, leader of the group which captured the Britons from a government building in Baghdad, was recently transferred from US to Iraqi custody.