Negotiators rule out paying ransom to Somali pirates

HOSTAGE negotiators will not meet Somali pirates' £4.2 million ransom demand for the safe return of Paul and Rachel Chandler, it appeared today.

In a phone call taken by the BBC last night, one of the pirates was reported as saying: "If they do not harm us, we will not harm them – we only need a little amount of seven million dollars."

But after seeing the report, the Foreign Office said the Government would not make any "substantive concessions to hostage takers, and that includes the payment of ransom".

Mr Chandler, 59, and his wife, 55, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured in the early hours of Friday, when armed men boarded their yacht.

Leah Mickleborough, the couple's niece, said the family had been unaware of the ransom request before they saw it on the news. The caller is reported to have said the amount would cover damage caused by Nato.

He told the corporation: "Nato operations have had a lot of negative impact here, they have destroyed a lot of equipment belonging to the poor local fishermen.

"The ransom request came after Mrs Chandler broke down in tears during her first contact since being taken hostage.