Hostage Britons 'alive and well'

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The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta released the first pictures of Robin Barry Hughes and Matthew John Maguire, who are believed to have been among 27 oil workers, including five expatriates, kidnapped by militants when their vessel was hijacked on September 9. The other hostages were later released.

In an e-mail sent to reporters, the group said the two Britons, who were pictured wearing shorts and flip-flops in what appeared to be a thick forest, would not be released until the Nigerian government frees the group's leader, Henry Okah, who is currently being tried on charges of arms trafficking.

The statement said: "We intend to hold on to them for as long as a very sick and dying Henry Okah is held hostage by the Nigerian state.

"Since their fate is now tied to his, God forbid that Henry Okah should die in detention."

It added they were "alive and well" and that the militants would continue to kidnap "high value oil workers from Western Europe and North America" in 2009 to keep pressure on the government to empower the inhabitants of Nigeria's oil-rich states.

In the pictures, the pair look dishevelled but did not appear to have been injured.