British aid worker among four abducted in Iraq

Norman Kember, a peace activist from Pinner, in north-west London, who was on his first visit to Iraq, was abducted by gunmen along with two Canadians and an American on Saturday. The Iraqi authorities said they were searching for the group and were worried about their safety.

Brigadier Hussein Kamal, the deputy Interior Minister for intelligence, confirmed the kidnapping and said an investigation was under way. It is believed that US and British forces in the country have also been put on alert.

A representative of the aid workers' agency in Baghdad, who did not want his identity disclosed, said there had been no demands as yet from the abductors and no news of the condition of the hostages.

Mr Kember, who used to be a professor at a teaching hospital in London, is believed to be representing a number of charity organisations in Iraq. His wife, Pat, said: "People are being very, very good to me and I am being supported." She added that her husband used to be the secretary of a peace group in Pinner but no longer represented them.

An official at one of the peace groups where Mr Kember still sometimes works described him as a friendly, resourceful man. The official said Mr Kember was "very much involved" in peace-keeping. He added: "He is a friendly and affable person and very committed to what he believes."

Geoffrey Whitfield, who has known Mr Kember for nearly 50 years, said he has spent his life promoting peace. "He is a highly respected academic, an extraordinary and lovely, man. It does not surprise me he was out in Iraq at all, he is very much anti-war, and has clear principles."

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm his name but we cannot give any more details at this stage. We will be in touch with the Iraqi authorities, and with the other countries involved, the Americans and the Canadians. We will be setting in motion an urgent investigation." The US embassy in Baghdad said it was investigating the case as a " matter of urgency".

Dan McTeague, parliamentary secretary for Canadians abroad, said: " There is concern that the revelation of names and other information may not have the outcome that we desire in terms of directly addressing the kidnapping in the case of these two Canadians." The group they worked for "has not requested any assistance at this time".

It was not known whether the aid workers were being held by a Sunni or Shia group. Sunni insurgent groups such as al-Qa'ida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, have abducted and beheaded a number of Western hostages including the Briton Kenneth Bigley. Irish-born Margaret Hassan, a resident of Iraq for more than 30 years, was also kidnapped and a video later released of her being shot.

British and American officials have been warning that Shia militia were also looking for British hostages who they hoped to exchange for Shia fighters arrested by British forces in Basra.