The latest threat by Islamist extremists to murder a captured British aid worker has thrown into sharp relief the ethical dilemma posed by the British and American Governments’ policy of refusing to pay ransoms for their kidnapped citizens The fate of the kidnapped British aid volunteer Alan Henning, the latest captive facing ritual murder in the desert by the psychopathic extremists of the Islamic State, also known as Isis or Isil, poses an acute dilemma for the British Government, which along with the United States refuses to pay ransoms for hostages. Instead, they pursue a policy of recovery where possible but, with refreshing candour, the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said this week that British and allied special forces might try to mount a rescue mission, if only they knew