Ken Bigley just wanted to live a simple life

A video tape posted on the Internet on Sunday shows British hostage Kenneth Bigley making a last appeal to Prime Minister Tony Blair to meet the demands of the militants holding him in Iraq before being beheaded.

"Here I am again, Mr &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2003/03/20/44710.html ' target=_blank>Blair and your government, very, very close to the end of my life. You don't appear to have done anything to help me. I'm not a difficult person. I am a simple man who just wants to live a simple life with his family," the 62-year-old engineer said.

"These people, their patience is wearing very, very thin and they are very serious people. Please, please give them what they require, the freedom of the women in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/13073_Iraq.html ' target=_blank>Abu Ghraib prison. If you do this the problem is solved," said Bigley, who was sitting on the floor with militants standing behind him, reports CNN.

The Liverpool engineer may have spent as much as a night on the run before being recaptured by militants, according to extraordinary eyewitness accounts from the town where he was held.

&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/cis/2002/10/02/37595.html ' target=_blank>Britain's Foreign Officerefused to discuss reports of Bigley's escape. But Iraqi and United States officials separately confirmed that the hostage had briefly evaded his captors.