- .Father-of-two from Perth, Scotland, abducted by militants in Syria last year
- .Hostage: 'You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States'
- .Militants previously beheaded journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley
- .Video released hours after 44-year-old's family made direct plea to captors
- .PM vows to hunt down 'murderers' after what he called 'act of pure evil'
- .Barack Obama says: 'US stands shoulder to shoulder with our close ally'
People will be 'sickened' that the man who killed a UK aid worker could be from Britain, David Cameron said today.
The Prime Minister described father-of-two David Haines, 44, as a ‘British hero’ - and warned: 'We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes.’
ISIS were ‘not Muslims they are monsters’, he said, and added that UK could not afford to ignore the severe threat the jihadists' spread posed to both world and domestic security.
He said: 'This is not something we can do on our own. We have to work with the rest of the world.
‘But ultimately, our security as a nation - the way we go about our everyday lives in this free and tolerate society that is Britain - has always depended on our readiness to act against those who stand for hatred and how stand for destruction. And that is exactly what we will do.’
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ISIS militants have released a video which appears to show the beheading of British hostage David Haines. The Prime Minister said the aid worker had been murdered in an 'act of pure evil' and promised justice
The Prime Minister arrived back into Downing Street two hours after the video (pictured) was posted online. The killer and his hostage, who appeared to be reciting a prepared script, spoke of the PM personally
He added: 'People across this country will be sickened by the fact that it could have been a British citizen, a British citizen, who could have carried out this unspeakable act.'
His comments came after ISIS extremists released a video showing the beheading of Mr Haines.
The aid worker was abducted by militants in Syria last year and appeared at the end of a video showing the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff earlier this month.
The Foreign Office was working urgently tonight to verify the contents of the latest video, in which the hostage says he holds Mr Cameron and Britain's foreign policy responsible for his death.
Responding to the video last night, the Prime Minister said: 'The murder of David Haines is an act of pure evil. My heart goes out to his family who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude.'
''We are a peaceful people': Prime Minister David Cameron makes a statement to the media on the killing of British aid worker David Haines today in Downing Street, central London
Hostage: Mr Haines was taken while working for relief agency ACTED in Syria in March 2013
Mr Cameron added: 'We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes.'
'People across this country will be sickened by the fact that it could have been a British citizen, a British citizen, who could have carried out this unspeakable act'
Prime Minister David Cameron
The Prime Minister returned to Downing Street shortly after midnight and is expected to chair a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency response committee in the morning.
US President Barack Obama said in a statement: 'The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Haines by the terrorist group Isil.
'Our hearts go out to the family of Mr Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom. The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve.
'We will work with the United Kingdom and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world.'
In the video, titled A Message to the Allies of America, a second British hostage is paraded before the camera
Response: Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted that the murder of David Haines was 'an act of pure evil'
'Sickened': Ed Miliband said the aid worker 'was somebody whose only purpose was to help innocent people'
In the video, titled A Message to the Allies of America, the extremists also threatened to execute another Briton who is paraded before the camera.
The video began with recent news footage of Mr Cameron discussing Britain's foreign policy towards ISIS.
It then cut to the man kneeling in an orange jumpsuit in the desert. Reciting what appeared to be a prepared script, he said: 'My name is David Cawthorne Haines. I would like to declare that I hold you David Cameron entirely responsible for my execution.
'You entered voluntarily into a coalition with the United States against the Islamic State, just as your predecessor Tony Blair did, following a trend amongst our British Prime Minsters who can't find the courage to say no to the Americans.
'Unfortunately it is we the British public that in the end will pay the price for our Parliament's selfish decisions.'
The ISIS militant, who has a British accent, then said: 'This British man has to the pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State.
'Ironically he has spent a decade of his life serving under the same Royal Air Force that is responsible for delivering those arms.
'Your evil alliance with America which continues to strike the Muslims of Iraq and most recently bombed the Haditha Dam will only accelerate your destruction, and playing the role of the obedient lapdog, Cameron, will only drag you and your people into another bloody and unwinnable war.'
The footage then showed what is believed to be the body of Mr Haines.
Family man: The 44-year-old has a teenage daughter in Scotland and a four-year-old daughter in Croatia
The video was released hours after Mr Haines's family made a direct plea to his captors to contact them. His second wife, Dragana Prodanovic Haines (pictured with him), previously said she cried for her husband daily
Another hostage, named in the video as a second Brit, is then paraded.
The militant adds: 'If you, Cameron, persist in fighting the Islamic State then you like your master Obama, will have the blood of your people on your hands.'
Before Mr Cameron's apparent confirmation of the murder, the Foreign Office said it was 'working urgently to verify' the video, which was removed from Youtube within minutes.
A spokesman said: 'If true this is another disgusting murder. We are offering the family every support possible. They ask to be left alone at this time.'
A statement on YouTube said the video had been removed 'as a violation of YouTube's policy on shocking and disgusting content.'
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: 'I am sickened at the disgusting, barbaric killing of David Haines.
'He was somebody whose only purpose was to help innocent people, themselves victims of conflict.'
'That Isil (ISIS) would choose to kill him says everything about their warped logic and murderous ways.
'Acts like this will not weaken but strengthen the resolve of Britain and the international community to defeat Isil and their ideology.
'My deepest condolences and thoughts are with his family as they cope with this terrible crime. And the hearts of the British people will go out to them.'
Labour MP Mike Gapes, a former chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, called for 'decisive' action against the extremists.
'Clear IS have now declared war on UK citizens,' he wrote on Twitter. 'Our UK government and people must now act decisively against IS in Iraq Syria and worldwide.'
Shadow international development minister Jim Murphy encouraged voters to respond by giving money to the kind of aid operation that Mr Haines had been working on when he was snatched.
'After brutal murder of aid worker David Haines, UK Govt will consider its response,' he wrote. 'You can too by donating to any charity working in Syria.'
Militants from ISIS have beheaded two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, posting the evidence online in gruesome videos featuring a masked jihadist with a British accent.
The Prime Minister said tonight the killing of David Haines 'is an act of pure evil', adding: 'We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers'. No 10 has not ruled out airstikes on ISIS militants
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (left) previously said the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was doing everything it could to protect Mr Haines. Barack Obama (right) has authorised U.S. air strikes in Syria
In the video showing Mr Foley's killing, Mr Sotloff was paraded before the camera. Then, in the video which showed the murder of Mr Sotloff, Mr Haines was paraded in the same way.
Mr Foley's mother Diane told The Mail on Sunday: 'I am so, so sorry. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Haines family. I was horrified when I heard the news and so very sad for them.'
The latest video was released hours after Mr Haines's family made a direct plea to his captors to contact them.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office released the statement late on Friday night after saying the extremists had not responded to any such attempts so far.
The statement on behalf of the family released by the FCO said: 'We are the family of David Haines.
'We have sent messages to you to which we have not received a reply. We are asking those holding David to make contact with us.'
Mr Cameron has also refused to rule out air strikes against ISIS militants.
A spokesman said on Thursday: 'In terms of air power, the prime minister has not ruled anything out and that is the position'.
The statement came a day after President Obama said he had authorised US airstrikes for the first time in Syria, along with further attacks in Iraq.
In a widely-anticipated 13-minute White House speech, he said he would hunt down ISIS militants 'wherever they are' in a drive to degrade and ultimately destroy the group, which has seized broad stretches of Iraq and Syria.
'That means I will not hesitate to take action against Isil (ISIS) in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.'
President Obama asked Congress for £300million to train and arm 'moderate' Syrian rebels. The training would take place in Saudi Arabia.
Videos: Officials believe an ISIS terrorist known as 'Jihadi John' was responsible for the killing of two U.S. journalists, James Foley (pictured) and Steven Sotloff, before threatening that Mr Haines would be next
Killed: Also beheaded by ISIS militants was the U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff, pictured
HEN HELPING OTHERS: THE HEARTRENDING TRIBUTE PAID BY MR HAINES'S BROTHER
Mr Haines's brother, Mike, paid tribute to him last night, saying: 'My name is Mike Haines, I am brother to David Haines, who was recently murdered in cold blood.
'David was like so very many of us, just another bloke. Born in 1970 to parents who loved us both, our childhood was centred around our family. Holidays in caravans and tents, days away as a family which we remember fondly.
Proud father: David Haines was an enthusiastic humanitarian, his brother has said
'David and I were brought up to know right from wrong, although we might not with the innocence of youth have always chosen right.
'David was a good brother, there when I needed him and absent when I didn't. I hope that he felt the same way about me.
'He was, in the right mood, the life and soul of the party and on other times the most stubborn irritating pain in the ass. He would probably say the same about me.
'After leaving school he worked with the Royal Mail before joining the RAF as an aircraft engineer.
'He married his childhood sweetheart Louise and in the due process of time had a wee lass Bethany. He was – and no doubt wherever he is – exceptionally proud of Bethany.
'David served with the UN in the Balkans, helping people in real need. There are many accolades from people in that region that David helped. He helped whoever needed help, regardless of race, creed or religion.
'During this time David began to decide that humanitarian work was the field he wanted to work in.
'David left the RAF and was employed by Scotrail. As with every job, David entered into it with enthusiasm. David met and married his second wife Dragana and they have a four year old daughter Athea.
'David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles. His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair. He was and is loved by all his family and will be missed terribly.'
LIFE OF FATHER-OF-TWO FROM SCOTLAND WHO DEDICATED HIS LIFE TO PROMOTING PEACE IN PLACES OF VIOLENT CONFLICT
The British father-of-two murdered at the hands of ISIS fanatics spent his career as an aid worker helping to protect innocent civilians across the Third World.
For more than two decades, David Cawthorne Haines travelled with aid agencies through Syria, Libya, the former Yugoslavia and South Sudan.
He dedicated his life to promoting peace in places of violent conflict and oversaw projects to save civilians from land mines.
The 44-year-old was described as a hero by his family, who were inspired by him to travel the world on further aid missions.
He had a teenage daughter in Scotland from a previous marriage with his first wife, and a four-year-old daughter, Athea, in Croatia from his second wife.
Mr Haines was born in Holderness in East Yorkshire and brought up in Perth by his parents Herbert, 77, and Mary, 79, who now live in Ayr.
He studied at Perth Academy before joining the military aged 17.
According to his online CV he spent 11 years in the military, holding 'various positions covering security and threat assessments in a number of different countries' between 1988 and 1999.
It did not specify with which armed forces he served, although the ISIS video claimed he had been in the Royal Air Force.
Despite getting married to his first wife when he was 22 – and having his first daughter five years later – Mr Haines was determined to continue working across the world to help civilians trapped in war-torn countries.
Between 1999 and 2004, he was at a German NGO helping to revive abandoned villages and to return refugees to their homes after the civil war in the former Yugoslavia.
The work led to swift promotion and he left a few years later to become an independent consultant, spreading his experience in dealing with security to various charities and organisations.
He worked as a consultant director for manufacturing company Astraea, based in Croatia, and went to Libya three years ago, working with Handicap International on demining programmes. The charity said Mr Haines had worked as 'a humanitarian' since 1999, helping people in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa.
A year later, the aid worker travelled to South Sudan, where he was a security manager for Nonviolent Peaceforce, a civilian peacekeeping group.
Wanting more freedom and a shorter-term contract, Mr Haines left to join French non-governmental organisation ACTED, or the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, which works to support civilians affected by wars, natural disasters and economic and social crises.
Mr Haines met his wife, Dragana Prodanovic Haines, 45, when she was working as a translator. At the time, Mr Haines was helping refugees return to their homes after the Balkans war.
The couple ran a supplies business from their home near Zagreb, where friends said their relationship was 'a true love story' and they were ecstatic when she became pregnant with their daughter at the age of 41.
The couple, who married in Croatia in 2010 in a ceremony in which Mr Haines wore a kilt, were due to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary in November.
Earlier this month, she described how she 'cries every day' for her husband, but has yet to tell their child of his capture.
He was with ACTED in Syria – whom he had been working for for just ten days - when he was kidnapped with a colleague, Italian aid worker Federico Motka, 31, in March last year by IS forces near the Atmeh refugee camp, by the Turkish border.
Mr Motka was released in May, after a ransom was paid.
Mr Haines's plight came to light at the end of a video showing the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff earlier this month.
He was being held by a group that included at least one of the British jihadis linked to the kidnap and killing of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, who have been nicknamed 'The Beatles'.
Reports from those with connections to the militants said Haines developed vomiting and diarrhoea.
He was also said to have been beaten so badly that his kidnappers were forced to arrange medical treatment.
The murder of aid worker David Haines is the third such killing to be filmed and released by ISIS. Here is a timeline of events, starting with the days leading up to the death of the first hostage, US journalist James Foley.
- Summer 2014 - A rescue mission fails to free Mr Foley from a secret location where he is being held by ISIS. The American freelance journalist, 40, was captured two years earlier.
- August 13: Mr Foley's family receive a message that he will be killed.
- August 19: al-Furqan Media, which is controlled by the terror group, releases a video appearing to show Mr Foley's killing. His death apparently happened at some time in the previous week. Social media bosses are forced to act swiftly in banning both the video and still images of the beheading, while concerns mount for fellow reporter and captive Steven Sotloff, who is seen pleading for the US to stop air strikes in Iraq at the end of the video.
- August 20: David Cameron cuts short a family holiday in Cornwall to hold meetings in Downing Street over the 'shocking and depraved' murder. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama remains defiant over his country's war on terror. He says: 'We will be vigilant and we will be relentless.'
- August 21: The killer is reported to be a British man who goes under the moniker 'Jihadi John'.
- August 24: The Government comes under pressure to strip British jihadists of their citizenship as reports emerged that MI5 and MI6 have now identified the apparently British killer behind the horrific murder.
- August 25: Shadow Home Office minister David Hanson repeats Labour's call for the return of control orders - which bans terror suspects from areas and restricts certain freedoms. They were previously abolished by Home Secretary Theresa May in favour of Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (Tpims).
- August 26: President Obama states his determination to quash IS, previously known as ISIL, but says a response to Mr Foley's death may take some time. He says: 'Rooting out a cancer like ISIL won't be easy and it won't be quick.'
- August 27: General Sir Richard Shirreff, who stepped down from his post as Nato deputy supreme commander earlier this year, says nothing should be ruled out in the fight against IS in Iraq and Syria.
- September 2: Mr Cameron condemns the 'disgusting and despicable' video apparently showing Mr Sotloff wearing an orange jumpsuit and being beheaded by ISIS militants. The alleged killer speaks with a British accent, prompting suggestions he is the man who murdered Mr Foley. It emerges that a British hostage, now known to be aid worker David Haines, is also under threat.
- September 3: Following a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee, Mr Cameron tells MPs in the House of Commons that Britain 'will never give in to terrorism'. He insists Britain will refuse to pay ransoms to terrorists in return for the release of hostages.
- September 4: At the start of a Nato summit in Wales, leaders of the Western alliance show a united front in response to terror threats. Mr Cameron and Mr Obama insist they will not weaken in the face of threats from IS terrorists. The Prime Minister refuses to rule out joining the US in air strikes on IS. He says Britain must 'use everything we have in our armoury' to squash the terrorists out of existence.
- September 5: Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond joins Mr Cameron in saying the Government will not hold back on launching air strikes, and says threats on Mr Haines's life by his captors will not deter the UK from taking action. The Nato summit ends with a pledge to "degrade and defeat" IS militants.
- September 7: On his return from Wales, Mr Obama says he is to begin laying out a strategy to defeat IS militants. In England, chancellor George Osborne says the Government 'reserves the right to take action' to stem any immediate humanitarian crisis on the ground in Iraq, although he says the Government is not at yet at the stage of agreeing targeted air strikes.
- September 8: Mr Cameron tells MPs they will have an opportunity to vote on whether to join the US in any military action.
- September 9: Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirms Britain will supply £1.6 million of machine guns and ammunition to Kurdish forces fighting IS militants in northern Iraq as part of a burgeoning international effort to drive back the jihadists .
- September 10: Mrt Obama authorises air strikes inside Syria for the first time as well as an expansion of strikes in Iraq. Earlier, during a visit to Baghdad, US secretary of state John Kerry says that neither his country nor the rest of the world would stand by and watch the IS militant group spread its evil.
- September 11: Mr Obama's plans are welcomed by Mr Cameron, though Downing Street again insists the UK is 'not at the stage' of joining them in military action.
- September 12: In a rare move, Europe minister David Lidington is summoned to Parliament to explain the Government's stance on tackling terror. He insists Mr Hammond had deliberately not ruled anything out when he answered reporters' questions about the UK's plans.
- September 13: A video showing the murder of British aid worker Mr Haines is released. The video, which involves the 44-year-old saying Mr Cameron and Tony Blair should be held responsible for his death, is widely condemned. It comes hours after Mr Haines's family issue a plea to his captors to contact them. The clip also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage.
- September 14: Mr Cameron calls an emergency meeting of its Cobra committee in the wake of the murder.
DAVID CAMERON'S FULL STATEMENT ON ISIS AND DAVID HAINES'S MURDER
‘David has been murdered in the most callous and brutal way imaginable by an organisation which is the embodiment of evil. We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes.
'David Haines was an aid worker. He went into harm's way not to harm people but to help his fellow human beings in the hour of their direst need from the Balkans to the Middle East.
'His family spoke of the joy he felt when he learned he'd got his job in Syria. His selflessness, his decency, his burning desire to help others has cost him his life.
‘But the whole country, like his grieving family, can be incredibly proud of what he did, and what he stood for in his humanitarian mission.
'David Haines was a British hero. The fact that an aid worker was taken, held and brutally murdered at the hands of Isil sums up what this organisation stands for.
'They are killing and slaughtering thousands of people - Muslims, Christians, minorities across Iraq and Syria.
'They boast of their brutality. They claim to do this in the name of Islam. That is nonsense. Islam is a religion of peace. They are not Muslims - they are monsters.
‘They make no secret of their desire to do as much harm - not just in the Middle East - but to any countries or peoples who seek to stand in their way, or dare to stand for values that they disagree with.
'It was an Isil fanatic who gunned down four people in a museum in Brussels.
'So let me be clear - the British people need to know that this is a fanatical organisation called Isil that has not only murdered a British hostage, they have planned and continue to plan attacks across Europe and in our country.
'We are a peaceful people. We do not seek out confrontation, but we need to understand we cannot ignore this threat to our security and that of our allies.
'There is no option of keeping our heads down that would make us safe. The problem would merely get worse as it has done over recent months - not just for us, but for Europe and the world.
'We cannot just walk on by if we are to keep this country safe. We have to confront this menace.
'Step by step we must drive back, dismantle and ultimately destroy Isil and what it stands for. We will do so in a calm, deliberate way - but with an iron determination.
'We will not do so on our own, but by working closely with our allies - not just the United States and in Europe, but also in the region.
'Because this organisation poses a massive threat to the Middle East. So we will defeat Isil through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.
'First, we will work with the Iraqi government to ensure it represents all of its people, and is able to tackle this threat effectively.
'We will support the Kurdish regional government who are holding the front line against Isil.
'We will help them protect their own people and the minorities - including Christians - that they've helped already, through our supplies of ammunition, and through training.
'Second, we will work at the United Nations to mobilise the broadest possible support to bear down on Isil.
'Third, the United States is taking direct military action. We support that.
'British Tornadoes and surveillance aircraft have been helping with intelligence gathering and logistics. This is not about combat groups on the ground. It is about working with others to extinguish this terrorist threat.
'As this strategy intensifies, we are ready to take whatever steps are necessary to deal with this threat and keep our country safe.
'Fourth, we will continue to support the enormous humanitarian efforts, including using the RAF to do so, to help the literally millions of people who have fled Isil and are now living in appalling conditions.
'And fifth, and perhaps most important, we will maintain and continually reinforce our formidable counter-terrorist effort here at home to prevent attacks and to hunt down those who are planning them.
'People across this country will be sickened by the fact that it could have been a British citizen, a British citizen, who could have carried out this unspeakable act.
'It is the very opposite of everything this country stands for. It falls to the Government, and to each and every one of us, to drain this poison from our society and to take on this warped ideology that is radicalising some of our young people.
'The murder of David Haines at the hands of Isil will not lead Britain to shirk our responsibility with our allies to deal with the threat that this organisation poses. It must strengthen our resolve.
'We must recognise that it will take time to eradicate a threat like this. It will require, as I've described, action at home and abroad.
'This is not something we can do on our own. We have to work with the rest of the world.
‘But ultimately, our security as a nation - the way we go about our everyday lives in this free and tolerate society that is Britain - has always depended on our readiness to act against those who stand for hatred and how stand for destruction. And that is exactly what we will do. Thank you.’
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