Hostage UK Home Page

Hostage UK was established to help to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of people who fall victim to kidnapping or hostage taking situations.

It draws on an experienced boards of trustees and 'members':

Trustees:
Terry Waite CBE, chair of trustees and former hostage negotiator and hostage;
Carlo Laurenzi OBE, former director of Prisoners Abroad
Phil Bigley, brother of former hostage in Iraq
Sue Williams QPM, former head of the Met Police’s hostage unit, now a specialist kidnap consultant
John Smith, Director of Resilience, Prudential
David Wilkinson, Dewey & LeBoeuf
Lynda Brockbank, founder of Crescent Lodge

Members:
Professor David Alexander, trauma specialist and consultant clinical psychologist, MA (Hons), C Psychol, PhD, FBPS, FRSM, (Hon) FRCPsych, Director Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research, Robert Gordon University
Colin Eglington, Managing Director of Simply Thank You and former hostage held at a chemicals factory near Baghdad before the first Gulf war
Sarah Hart-Dyke, mother of former hostage in Colombia
Peter Shaw, former banker, kidnapped while working for the European Commission in Georgia
Sandra Singer, former Red Cross
Professor Gordon Turnbull
Peter Young MBE, former member of the anti-kidnap unit at SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency)

Staff:
Rachel Briggs, part-time Director

In the absence of any internationally agreed definition of kidnapping, we aim to support the family of any British national who is held illegally and against their will overseas, and the hostage on their release.

Hostage UK offers a range of services and support for families, runs an educational programme for organisations sending employees and contractors to kidnapping hotspots, and works to promote a greater understanding of the crime and its impacts.

For more information, contact Hostage UK Director Rachel Briggs: rachel@hostageuk.org