BROWN DEMANDS JOHNSTON'S RELEASE

Mr Brown, speaking in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, said the video released of Johnston was being investigated.

He said: "Our thoughts are with him and his family this morning and we sympathise with his family and we know the worries and anxieties they will have.

"We are investigating the video as a matter of urgency. We are in touch with Mr Johnston's family and we are doing everything in our power to secure his release.

"And I call on those people who are holding Mr Johnston to release him as a matter of urgency. They are not serving their cause by detaining him in this unfair and unjust way."

Mr Brown said the video was being investigated, adding: "We have been in touch with his family, we will continue to do everything in our power to secure his release and I do repeat that those people who are holding Mr Johnston should release him as a matter of urgency because their cause is not served by their detention of him."