FOREIGN Secretary Robin Cook today pledged not to rest in his efforts to find out what has happened to Blackburn hostage Paul Wells kidnapped in Kashmir.

He is prepared to raise the issue again with the Pakistani and Indian governments on the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting which starts today.

In an exclusive interview with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph to mark the start of the Conference, he said the families of Mr Wells and fellow hostage Keith Mangan had the right to know what had happened to the two men.

Mr Cook's determination to raise the issue with the two governments was partly the reason of the diplomatic row which overshadowed the Queen's visit to the sub-continent earlier this month.

Mr Cook said: "I raised the matter of Paul Wells and Keith Mangan with the prime ministers of both Pakistan and India. I raised it as well with the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, that part of the principality under Pakistani control.

"I said that this was a most important issue for the British government. It is a priority for me.

"The families have a right to know the fate of these two men. If they are still alive, they need to be freed and returned to their families. If they are dead, their families need to know what happened."

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