IT hostage Peter Moore released

Kidnapped British IT contractor Peter Moore has been released after two-and-a-half years in captivity.

Moore, who worked for US consultancy BearingPoint when he was kidnapped in May 2007, was freed last week.

Hopes were raised in June that the 36-year-old computer expert from Lincoln would be released after the US military freed a senior Shia militia leader, Laith al-Khazali. This was one of the demands of Moore's kidnappers for his and his four bodyguards' release.

Moore is now back in the UK and expected to receive counselling and medical care.

Three of the bodyguards are dead and the fourth is feared dead.

The IT industry has a role to play in both the military operations and the rebuilding of Iraq. High-tech equipment plays an important role in fighting, but there will also be a role for the country in the global technology industry, and a role for the industry in helping to rebuild Iraq's shattered infrastructure.