THE deaths of two hostages in Iraq, after more than two years in the hands of kidnappers, throws into sharp focus once again the awful dilemma of how governments should respond to such cases.

One can only imagine the torment that the families of security guards Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, from Glasgow, have gone through since they were seized with three other Britons from outside the Iraqi finance ministry in Baghdad, in May, 200 The grief of those families at this tragic conclusion to their ordeal must be overwhelming.

For Merseysiders, the death of hostage Ken Bigley, at the hands of his Iraqi kidnappers, in 2004, remains fresh in the memory. Mr Bigley’s kidnapping and ultimate murder, played out in the full glare of international publicity, undoubtedly gave Western authorities pause for serious consideration, and was perhaps part of the reason why the hostage crisis involving these five men has been played out in relative secrecy.

As a result, the Shi’ite militant group responsible for these kidnappings has not been able to use the media as a pawn in its grotesque game, and has attracted relatively little public attention for its actions.

The result, for Mr Swindlehurst and Mr Creswell, has been no different. The imponderable here is just how many more hostages may have been taken if this case had attracted the level of attention Mr Bigley’s did before it.

The other issue remains that of the British government’s resolute refusal to negotiate with kidnappers.

For victims’ relatives, this is always difficult to take. The argument, of course, is that a government that demonstrates itself willing to make concessions to criminals exposes its citizens to much greater risk of further hostage-taking.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of these tactics, the sympathies of all of us go out to the families who have lost their loved ones in such dreadful circumstances.