New video shows BBC reporter in explosives belt 'to deter rescue attempts'

In the 100-second video the captive BBC correspondent said he believed a deal for his release had been close last week but talks had broken down at the last minute.

Mr Johnston said his situation 105 days after his seizure in Gaza was "now very serious" and warned that the vest would be detonated if armed attempts were made to release him.

He referred to a prospective deal with his kidnappers, the Army of Islam, which was confirmed by an official of Hamas, the controlling Palestinian faction in Gaza.

The Hamas official said that it had offered safety assurances as well as arranging payoffs to resolve deadly clan feuds in which Army of Islam members are involved, but the captors' leader had reneged on the deal.

The Army of Islam blamed Hamas and the British Government for the failure of the talks.

The video of the reporter was posted on the Internet by his captors - who abducted him in March as he finished work in Gaza City.

It was a remarkably cool performance by the experienced foreign correspondent, renowned for his composure in the face of danger.

He was clearly delivering the message demanded by his captors, but it was as if he were delivering a BBC report on someone else's abduction.

Titled Alan's Appeal, the film showed him wearing a red shirt under what appears to be a blue and white explosives vest, secured with black shoulder straps, similar to those used by suicide bombers in the Middle East. Mr Johnston looked and sounded tired.

"The situation is now very serious as you can see," he began. "I have been dressed in what is an explosive belt, which the kidnappers say will be detonated if there was any attempt to storm this area.

"They say they are ready to turn the hide-out into what they describe as a death zone if there is an attempt to free me by force."

He added: "Captors tell me that very promising negotiations were ruined when the Hamas movement and the British Government decided to press for a military solution to this kidnapping."

The video ended with the BBC man saying: "I do appeal to the Hamas movement and the British Government not, not to, resort to the tactics of force in an effort to end this.

"I would ask the BBC and anyone in Britain who wishes me well to support me in that appeal. It seems the answer is to return to negotiations, which I am told are very close to achieving a deal."

Mr Johnston's father Graham said: "My family and I are obviously most concerned and distressed at this latest development. Our thoughts, of course, are with Alan in his present predicament.

"We earnestly request his abductors to release Alan unharmed in any way."

The Foreign Office renewed its calls for Mr Johnston's release.

A spokesman said: "We condemn the continued release of videos like this which can only add to the distress of Alan Johnston's family and friends. They have not seen Alan for over 14 weeks. We remain in very close touch with Alan's family and the BBC and we are in close contact with the relevant people in the Palestinian territories."

In the early hours of the morning Gaza City had resounded to the sounds of gunfire and explosions, as rival factions clashed in the Sabra district where Mr Johnston is believed to be held. It is controlled by the Dagmoush crime clan, of which the Army of Islam is an offshoot.

The Dagmoush have made many enemies, including Hamas. Observers in Gaza believe their possession of Mr Johnston is the only factor now stopping an all-out attack on them.

For Hamas, the Islamist faction which seized Gaza from rivals Fatah, the BBC man's release would be a much-needed propaganda boost.

An attempt to secure Mr Johnston's release fell through last Monday, said Mahmoud Zahar, the Hamas official who is leading the group's efforts to secure a release.

He claimed that Hamas had promised the crime family it would not be harmed and that blood feuds with other families would be resolved "according to Muslim law" - usually by payment of blood money.

But he accused Mumtaz Doghmush, leader of the clan, of reneging at the last minute.

• Israeli premier Ehud Olmert has said he will release 250 Fatah members in a goodwill gesture aimed at boosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Fatah member, after the Hamas victory in Gaza.