Ransom payments made to kidnappers are fuelling terrorism around the world, the Foreign Office has warned. The number of groups demanding money to release hostage is on the rise, with ransoms increasing by 25 per cent in just three years. There are fears that more and more countries are now willing to stump up money to free citizens being held by terrorists, increasing the likelihood of more kidnappings. Warning: The Foreign Office says the number of ransoms paid to kidnappers is on the rise, with more money demanded to release captives . The G8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland in June agreed to ‘stamp out’ ransom payments to terror groups. David Cameron called on private firms to follow the lead of the most powerful countries in the world. Downing Street said it wanted to ‘suffocate terrorist sources of financing’. However, the families of people who are kidnapped say they had little choice but to pay money to have their loved ones returned. Somali gunmen kidnapped Brits Paul and Rachel Chandler off the Seychelles four years ago. Mrs Chandler's brother Stephen Collett negotiated a significant ransom for their release as the only option to secure the couple's release. Mr Collett said: 'I'm very unhappy at paying ransoms. But if we have a policy where there is no alternative, and the Foreign Office don't give you an alternative, they just seem to think if you just sit back and do nothing, eventually they might be released.' In the last three years £45million is thought to have been paid to free western hostages, equivalent to . But Foreign Office officials say the amount charged per hostage is on the rise, from $4million in 2010 to $5million this year, the BBC reported. British sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler were only released by Somali pirates after their family paid a substantial ransom . Earlier this year $22million was paid to Al Qaeda to release Swiss, Austrian and Finnish hostages and weeks later there was a security alert which closed US and UK embassies in Yemen. Aimen Deen, a terrorism expert from security consultants Five Dimensions, said: ‘Basically the money is taken and divided into several categories for several departments. ‘There is the weapons department. There are the training camps that need food and electricity. ‘They need money for weapons for training, they need to obtain chemicals for explosives, they need to pay for the tickets for people to travel... the renting of apartments abroad and the building of camps outside and inside of Yemen.’ The UK has had a policy of not paying ransoms since the 1970s, insisting it only encourages more hostage-taking. The Foreign Office said: ‘We want others in the international community to follow the G8’s lead so that terrorist groups no longer have any access to finances traditionally secured through ransom payments. ‘We believe this will severely hinder their ability to operate since ransoms represent the single most significant source of terrorist income.’
Ransoms have risen from $4million in 2010 to $5million per hostage .
UK has had policy not to pay kidnappers since the 1970s .
Growing numbers of countries are now willing to pay, increasing demand .
Ransom payments made to kidnappers are fuelling terrorism around the world, the Foreign Office has warned. The number of groups demanding money to release hostage is on the rise, with ransoms increasing by 25 per cent in just three years. There are fears that more and more countries are now willing to stump up money to free citizens being held by terrorists, increasing the likelihood of more kidnappings. Warning: The Foreign Office says the number of ransoms paid to kidnappers is on the rise, with more money demanded to release captives . The G8 summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland in June agreed to ‘stamp out’ ransom payments to terror groups. David Cameron called on private firms to follow the lead of the most powerful countries in the world. Downing Street said it wanted to ‘suffocate terrorist sources of financing’. However, the families of people who are kidnapped say they had little choice but to pay money to have their loved ones returned. Somali gunmen kidnapped Brits Paul and Rachel Chandler off the Seychelles four years ago. Mrs Chandler's brother Stephen Collett negotiated a significant ransom for their release as the only option to secure the couple's release. Mr Collett said: 'I'm very unhappy at paying ransoms. But if we have a policy where there is no alternative, and the Foreign Office don't give you an alternative, they just seem to think if you just sit back and do nothing, eventually they might be released.' In the last three years £45million is thought to have been paid to free western hostages, equivalent to . But Foreign Office officials say the amount charged per hostage is on the rise, from $4million in 2010 to $5million this year, the BBC reported. British sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler were only released by Somali pirates after their family paid a substantial ransom . Earlier this year $22million was paid to Al Qaeda to release Swiss, Austrian and Finnish hostages and weeks later there was a security alert which closed US and UK embassies in Yemen. Aimen Deen, a terrorism expert from security consultants Five Dimensions, said: ‘Basically the money is taken and divided into several categories for several departments. ‘There is the weapons department. There are the training camps that need food and electricity. ‘They need money for weapons for training, they need to obtain chemicals for explosives, they need to pay for the tickets for people to travel... the renting of apartments abroad and the building of camps outside and inside of Yemen.’ The UK has had a policy of not paying ransoms since the 1970s, insisting it only encourages more hostage-taking. The Foreign Office said: ‘We want others in the international community to follow the G8’s lead so that terrorist groups no longer have any access to finances traditionally secured through ransom payments. ‘We believe this will severely hinder their ability to operate since ransoms represent the single most significant source of terrorist income.’
now willing to stump up money to free citizens from $4million in 2010 to $5million this year, inside of Yemen.’ The UK has had a policy of not paying ransoms since the 1970s, insisting it only