The families of the British, Canadian and US citizens kidnapped in Iraq on 26 November have jointly issued an appeal for their safe return.

Following the Iraqi elections, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, on Friday 16 December, said: 'Millions of Iraqis appear to have voted. I believe that today will be seen as a historic day.' The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, commenting on Thursday 15 December, said: 'It shows very clearly that given the choice the Iraqi people want the same as the rest of us, which is a chance to live under a democratic form of government.'
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Britain's Ambassador to Iraq, William Patey, has given an interview to the Today Programme on 16 December, regarding the parliamentary elections in Iraq. Mr Patey said the elections were 'a success by any standard', due to the numbers who voted and the fact that the vote was high across the country, including a high turnout by the Sunni community, which Mr Patey said will produce 'a more representative Parliament.' He added: 'If the Iraqis want to choose religious parties then that is their choice ... Democracy is about the Iraqis choosing.'

Commenting on the BBC's opinion poll from Iraq the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, told the Today programme on 12 December that 'in many, many neighbourhoods the situation is pretty peaceful ... so they're worried about the country as a whole or what's going on in Baghdad but not so much in their own areas. And in material terms the country has got a lot better since the invasion three years ago. What that I think presages is that if the elections work satisfactorily on Thursday you get a stable democratic constitutionally elected Government established and then you get a gradual take over of security by the Iraqi forces.'
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The Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made a statement in Downing Street on Thursday 8 December about the kidnap of Mr Norman Kember and three colleagues. He said: 'I've made repeatedly clear the British government's overall position in respect of this and other kidnappings... Norman Kember and his colleagues are campaigners for peace, dedicated to helping others. We ask their release.'
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The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, issued a statement on 7 December in relation to the kidnap of Mr Norman Kember and his three colleagues in Iraq. The statement said: 'Our overall position in respect of kidnapping has been made very clear already. These four men are all campaigners for peace, dedicated to the helping of others, and we ask for their release... If the kidnappers want to get in touch, we want to hear what they have to say.'
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