Sky News: A British teacher who was being held hostage by militants in Libya has been released and reunited with his family.
David Bolam, who worked at the International School in Benghazi, was abducted earlier this year. His kidnapping had not been reported at the request of his family and the Foreign Office.
Although it has not been officially confirmed who his captors were, a group calling itself the Army of Islam, a faction in Libya, released an online video of Mr Bolam dated 28 August pleading for his release.
The 53-second video showed him sitting in a room wearing a white T-shirt. In it, he said: "My name is David Richard Bolam. I am a British citizen. I am a teacher.
"My health is good at the moment. I have been here a very long time." He went on to plead for Britain to arrange a prisoner exchange or other diplomatic initiative to secure his release.
Uk Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tweeted: "Glad that David Bolam is safe and well after his ordeal and has been reunited with his family, who we have been supporting since he was taken."
The family has asked for privacy. There are unconfirmed reports a ransom was paid through "unofficial channels" in exchange for Mr Bolam's release.
The Foreign Office confirmed the Government had paid no money, saying: "HMG never pays ransoms. It is illegal to pay ransoms to a terrorist group."
While several Western governments have paid money to secure the release of hostages held by militants, the UK and US governments have a policy of refusing demands for ransoms.
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