British Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Nato allies not to pay ransoms for kidnapped nationals, as leaders of the Western military alliance met today to discuss their response to the threat of militants in Iraq.
Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria are currently holding a British man hostage and threatened to kill him in a video this week which showed a US journalist being killed, the second in as many weeks.
Amid reports that hostages from France and Italy have been released following the payment of large sums, Cameron confirmed Britain’s policy not to pay ransoms and took a swipe at those who do.
“It is utterly self-defeating. It is worse than self-defeating, it is actually a risk to us back at home,” Cameron said ahead of the Nato summit dinner on Thursday night.
