Alan Henning murder: Aid worker's brother calls for 'troops on ground'

Murdered aid worker Alan Henning's brother has called on David Cameron to put British troops on the ground in Syria and Iraq to catch the Islamic State "monsters" who killed him.

Reg Henning said those responsible for killing the taxi driver, from Eccles in Greater Manchester, were "barbarians".

He also said the family had been ordered to keep silent about his brother being held captive.

Mr Henning, 47, was delivering aid when he was kidnapped in Syria last year.

'Living nightmare'

His brother told BBC News."You're not going to find them by dropping a few bombs in Iraq.

"We need send ground forces in to find out where these monsters are - the sooner we do it, the sooner the killing stops."

Mr Henning said the family had been "gagged by the government and the Foreign Office" over the kidnapping.

"It's been a living nightmare, keeping it quiet for nine months," he said.

Mr Henning added: "I've hardly slept, I've felt physically sick.

"We've seen the campaign... if this was done, say, six months ago it could have done more good."

Taxi driver Alan Henning was delivering aid to Syria when he was kidnapped in December

Children from the town where Alan Henning was kidnapped have sent messages of support to his family

Alan Henning was kidnapped in the town of Ad Dana while he was delivering aid

Mr Henning said it was "disgusting" the family had not been allowed to speak until recently.

Asked about his brother's killers, he said: "I think they are barbaric.

"This is not about Islam. Islamic teaching does not call for murder.

"They are monsters; there is no other word."

Children from the town of Ad Dana in Syria, where Alan Henning was kidnapped, have paid their own tribute to him posing for photographs with messages for his family.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: "This was a further disgusting murder. We are offering the family every support possible."

She reiterated Prime Minister David Cameron's pledge: "We will do all we can to hunt down these murderers and bring them to justice."