1. There is no shame in admitting that the party made tremendous mistakes under Blair – the great shame would be to pursue the same set of politics under a false pretence of loyalty.

2. And there are many people who think it only right that we should apply the most rigorous standards to those in public life – even if those same standards don‘t seem to matter when, for example, you‘re declaring war on a false pretence.

3. I have been here now 173 days and I feel we‘ve been forgotten." A written statement on the video accused Britain of plundering Iraq‘s wealth and demanded British troops leave within ten days of the broadcast or "this hostage will be killed as a first warning, which would be followed with details you would not want to know". Scared: A close up of the hostage reveals the terror in his face It claimed all five men had "acknowledged and confessed and detailed the agenda with which they came to steal our wealth under false pretence of being advisers to the Finance Ministry". The tape promised to "follow up with their confessions later". It was the first time any of the Britons had been seen since they were snatched from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry by 40 gunmen wearing police uniforms, and the first time their captors‘ demands had been made public.