THE family of Liverpool hostage Ken Bigley, who was murdered in Iraq, will today mark the fifth anniversary of his death.

Relatives of the Walton oil worker will meet to mark half a decade since he was horrifically beheaded in Baghdad by his captors.

And Stan Bigley, Ken’s brother, said he had given up all hope of ever finding his body.

Stan, 72, said he was convinced the remains of the civil engineer would never be returned to Merseyside.

Mr Bigley was held hostage for 19 days in the Iraqi capital before captors beheaded him and recorded the murder on video, in October, 2004.

Brother Stan, now living in Wigan, said the family would be marking the fifth anniversary of his death in their own private and quiet way.

He added: “The day when we had the service {in 2004} at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, when Tony Blair was there, that was his burial in my eyes.

“I knew then we’d never see Ken’s body again. We know how these captors work.

“The Foreign Office do contact us from time to time, but there’s no movement. They are never going to find him.

“There’s nothing as a family we can do. What happened to Ken always plays on your mind. We will say a prayer for him today.”

The Bigley family believe the filming of his apparent beheading was a cruel hoax, and he may have been shot while trying to escape.

The north Liverpool man was working alongside two Americans – working for a company involved in reconstruction projects in Iraq – who were also apparently beheaded.