Body of Iraq hostage Alan McMenemy handed over to Baghdad embassy

The body of a Briton, who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2007 and later killed, has been handed over to the British embassy in Baghdad. Alan McMenemy, a security guard from Glasgow, was kidnapped by Asaib al-Haq (Leagues of Righteousness) in Baghdad along with colleagues Jason Creswell, Jason Swindlehurst and Alan MacLachlan and an IT consultant, Peter Moore, on 29 May 2007. Creswell, Swindlehurst and MacLachlan were killed and their bodies recovered in 2009. Moore was released in December 2009. An inquest in 2011 heard that Creswell, Swindlehurst and MacLachlan, who were working as Moore's bodyguards, were subjected to mock executions, regularly beaten and kept chained and blindfolded for long periods before they were shot dead by their captors. The prime minister, David Cameron, said: "It is with great sadness that I can confirm that the British embassy in Baghdad received a body today that has been identified as Alan McMenemy, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2007, along with four other men." "My thoughts are with Alan's family and friends at this time. They have waited so long for his return and I hope that this will allow them to find some peace after an ordeal that no family should ever have to suffer. "At this time, we should also take time to remember the families of Margaret Hassan and Ken Bigley, who are still waiting for the return of their loved ones." A statement from Rosaleen McMenemy, Alan's wife, said: "Our families have suffered terrible uncertainty and distress over the past four years and eight months. We have worried about Alan every single minute of each waking day. We now know that we will shortly have Alan home again. This will allow us to properly grieve for him and we will draw some comfort from the fact that we have him home at last. "I would like to thank my wider family, all our friends, colleagues, the many organisations and others too numerous to name who have stood with us over this most difficult of times. Without their support, we would not have made it through these dark days. "I would respectfully ask that we as a family are allowed the space and time to grieve in our own way, and if at all possible to attempt to return to some form of normal life."