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Union — and an excessive predilection for welfarism have created a peculiar, and deeply unattractive, psyche among many
Liverpudlians. They see themselves whenever possible as victims, and resent their victim status; yet at the same time they wallow in it. Part of this flawed psychological state is that they cannot accept that they might have made any contribution to their misfortunes, but seek rather to blame someone else for it, thereby deepening their sense of shared tribal grievance against the rest of society. The deaths of more than 50 Liverpool football supporters at Hillsborough in 1989 was undeniably a greater tragedy than the single death, however horrible, of Mr Bigley; but that is no excuse for Liverpool's failure to acknowledge, even to this day, the part played in the disaster by drunken fans at the back of the crowd who mindlessly tried to fight their way into the ground that Saturday afternoon. The police became a convenient scapegoat, and the
219:. Both women participated in Iraq's biological-weapons programme, according to the United Nations weapons inspectorate. News reports had earlier suggested that other Iraqi women were indeed being held in US custody, but it is not known to what extent these reports were out-of-date by the time of Bigley's kidnap. The Iraqi provisional government stated that Taha and Ammash could be released immediately, stressing that this was about to happen anyway, as no charges had been brought against the women.
164:, a Kuwaiti company working on reconstruction projects in Iraq. The men knew their home was being watched and realised they were in great danger when their Iraqi house guard informed them he was leaving due to threats by militias for protecting American and British workers. Bigley and the two Americans decided it was worth the risk and continued to live in the house until their abduction on 16 September.
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350:. According to reporters who watched the film, Bigley was wearing an orange jumpsuit, and read out a statement, before one of the kidnappers stepped forward and cut off his head with a knife. The bloodied head was then placed on top of Bigley's abdomen. News reports published after Bigley's death suggested he had briefly managed to escape from the kidnappers with the help of two
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What he has got to understand is that we were speaking the truth for 23 years and apologies have only started to come today from them because of yesterday. It's too little, too late. It's fine to apologise afterwards. They just don't want their names in any more sleaze. No, his apology doesn't mean a
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Johnson apologised at the time of the article, travelling to
Liverpool to do so, and again following the publication of the report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012; however, Johnson's apology was rejected by Margaret Aspinall, chairperson of the Hillsborough Families Support Group, whose
399:
for an editorial published on 16 October 2004 following the death of Bigley in Iraq, in which it was claimed that the response to Bigley's killing was fuelled by the fact he was from
Liverpool, and went on to criticize the "drunken" fans at Hillsborough and called on them to accept responsibility for
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was released on 22 September by Bigley's captors, this time showing Bigley pleading for his life and begging the
British Prime Minister Tony Blair to save him. Clearly exhausted and highly emotional, Bigley spoke directly to Blair: "I need you to help me now, Blair, because you are the only person on
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agents of Syrian and Iraqi origin, who paid two of his captors to help him. The captors attempted to drive Bigley, who was carrying a gun and was disguised, out of town, the reports said, but he was spotted and recaptured at an insurgent checkpoint. The two captors who were said to have helped him
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The extreme reaction to Mr Bigley's murder is fed by the fact that he was a
Liverpudlian. Liverpool is a handsome city with a tribal sense of community. A combination of economic misfortune — its docks were, fundamentally, on the wrong side of England when Britain entered what is now the European
311:, Cuba. In the video, Bigley again begged for his life, saying, "Tony Blair is lying. He doesn't care about me. I'm just one person." On 1 October, another 100,000 leaflets asking for information about Bigley were distributed by the British consulate in Baghdad.
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After
Armstrong and Hensley were killed, the British government and media responded by turning Bigley's fate into Britain's major political issue during this period, leading to subsequent claims that the government had become a hostage to the situation. The
307:, who made public statements. A third video was released on 29 September, showing Bigley chained inside a small chicken-wire cage, wearing an orange boiler suit apparently intended to be reminiscent of those worn by inmates at the US detention facility at
179:, released a video of the three men kneeling in front of a Tawhid and Jihad banner. The kidnappers said they would kill the men within 48 hours if their demands for the release of Iraqi women prisoners held by
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The
British government issued a statement saying it held no Iraqi women prisoners, and that the only two women known to be in US custody were two so-called high-profile Iraqi scientists, British-educated
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personally contacted the Bigley family several times to assure them that everything possible was being done, short of direct negotiation with the kidnappers. It was also reported that a
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Bigley's family, particularly his brother Paul, was successful, with the help of the Irish government, in eliciting support for Bigley's release from
Palestinian leader
280:, asking for information about Bigley's whereabouts, were distributed in al-Mansour, the wealthy district of Baghdad Bigley had been living in. In his home town of
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247:; this meant Bigley himself was also an Irish citizen from birth. It was hoped this status would aid his release, as Ireland did not participate in the
335:, was held for Bigley in Liverpool on 13 November 2004. His body has not been recovered, although an alleged al-Qaeda terrorist awaiting trial for the
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The kidnappers made a film apparently showing Bigley's murder, and the tape was subsequently posted on
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over the course of three days, Bigley was killed in the same manner two weeks later, despite the attempted intervention of the
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The chicken-wire cage in which Bigley was filmed was found in
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and the indirect intervention of the British government. Videos of the killings were posted on websites and blogs.
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newspaper a whipping-boy for daring, albeit in a tasteless fashion, to hint at the wider causes of the incident.
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were not met. Armstrong was killed on 20 September, when the deadline expired, and Hensley 24 hours later.
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207:(SAS) team had been placed on standby in Iraq in the event that a rescue mission might become possible.
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and sent a senior two-man delegation to Iraq on 26 September to negotiate on Bigley's behalf.
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God's earth who can help me." The video was posted on several websites, blogs and shown on
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Around this time it emerged that Bigley's mother Lil (then 86 years old) had been born in
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718:"Hillsborough: Boris Johnson apologises for slurs in 2004 Spectator article (VIDEO)"
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condemned the kidnapping, saying it was contrary to the teachings of the
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116:(22 April 1942 – 7 October 2004) was a British civil engineer who was
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made two appeals, one on 30 September and a second on 7 October.
136:, on 16 September 2004, along with his colleagues, U.S. citizens
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849:"Spectator apology for 'disproportionate grief' for Mr Bigley"
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251:, and the Irish Government issued Bigley an Irish passport
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has claimed he is "buried in a ditch at the entrance to
367:. The US military stated that, in 20 houses, it found
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escape were purportedly executed shortly thereafter.
144:. Following the murders of Hensley and Armstrong by
323:on 7 October 2004. His death was first reported on
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243:and was therefore entitled to be a citizen of the
276:On 24 September, 50,000 leaflets prepared by the
761:Ken Bigley's wife mourns the loss of her husband
257:, which was shown on Al Jazeera television. The
175:") Islamic extremist group, led by Jordanian
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792:"Bigley beheaded after MI6 rescue backfired"
651:"Bigley beheaded after MI6 rescue backfired"
327:television the following day. A multi-faith
319:Despite the efforts to save him, Bigley was
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37:Bigley (right) with his wife Sombat in 1998
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665:(subscription required for full article)
16:British civil engineer and murder victim
677:"Man questioned over Ken Bigley murder"
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331:, attended by Tony Blair and his wife
716:Echo, Liverpool (13 September 2012).
607:"British Hostage Is Beheaded in Iraq"
418:son James, 18, died in the disaster:
162:Gulf Supplies and Commercial Services
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371:associated with hostage-holding and
949:Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2004
816:"Ken Bigley's hostage cage 'found'"
494:List of solved missing person cases
738:"Mayor makes Hillsborough apology"
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840:"Bigley body claims investigated"
627:"Bigley body claims investigated"
859:Ken Bigley killed: Your reaction
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265:, made an appeal on Al-Jazeera.
794:, by Hala Jaber and Ali Rifat,
675:Henry, Emma (17 January 2007).
649:Jaber, Hala (10 October 2004).
605:Wong, Edward (8 October 2004).
160:The three men were working for
934:British people of the Iraq War
261:spokesman on foreign affairs,
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879:Iraq–United Kingdom relations
584:Harding, Luke (20 May 2004).
402:Hillsborough stadium disaster
909:Missing person cases in Iraq
944:October 2004 events in Iraq
904:Islamism-related beheadings
865:. Thursday 14 October 2004.
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924:War crimes in the Iraq War
884:2000s missing person cases
504:Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr.
899:Filmed executions in Iraq
365:Second Battle of Fallujah
359:Torture-chamber discovery
286:Muslim Council of Britain
194:British Foreign Secretary
150:Muslim Council of Britain
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914:Terrorism deaths in Iraq
894:Deaths by person in Iraq
659:. London. Archived from
305:Colonel Gaddafi of Libya
187:Negotiations for release
959:Kidnapping in the 2000s
301:King Abdullah of Jordan
223:Second and third videos
217:Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash
199:and the Prime Minister
770:Profile:Kenneth Bigley
557:"Timeline: Ken Bigley"
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337:2003 Istanbul bombings
278:British Foreign Office
804:"The other prisoners"
586:"The other prisoners"
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249:2003 invasion of Iraq
171:("Oneness of God and
167:On 18 September, the
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663:on 25 February 2014.
474:Fabrizio Quattrocchi
400:their "role" in the
395:, was criticised by
177:Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
939:October 2004 crimes
830:by Peter Beaumont,
821:The Daily Telegraph
780:"Theatre of terror"
489:List of kidnappings
245:Republic of Ireland
205:Special Air Service
126:al-Mansour district
114:Kenneth John Bigley
92:Cause of death
47:Kenneth John Bigley
954:Kidnapping in Iraq
836:, 14 November 2004
828:"The final battle"
824:, 22 November 2004
788:, 21 November 2004
782:, by Jason Burke,
263:Michael D. Higgins
259:Irish Labour Party
122:Islamic extremists
854:, 16 October 2004
806:by Luke Harding,
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96:Decapitation
78:(2004-10-07)
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519:Shosei Koda
382:controversy
271:Gerry Adams
254:in absentia
102:Nationality
873:Categories
530:References
484:Kim Sun-il
348:shock site
234:Al Jazeera
213:Rihab Taha
201:Tony Blair
197:Jack Straw
53:1942-04-22
685:. London.
656:The Times
594:. London.
569:9 January
499:Nick Berg
404:in 1989:
325:Abu Dhabi
282:Liverpool
267:Sinn Féin
227:A second
146:beheading
118:kidnapped
61:Liverpool
852:BBC News
843:BBC News
774:BBC News
765:BBC News
743:BBC News
632:BBC News
562:BBC News
428:See also
341:Fallujah
321:beheaded
373:torture
269:leader
156:Capture
130:Baghdad
124:in the
106:British
84:Baghdad
65:England
333:Cherie
303:, and
290:Qur'an
241:Dublin
86:, Iraq
315:Death
173:Jihad
571:2012
140:and
134:Iraq
73:Died
67:, UK
43:Born
863:BBC
861:."
411:Sun
352:MI6
343:".
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51:(
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