Britain insists IS murder threat won’t affect policy

LONDON, UK — The news that Islamic State militants are threatening to kill a British hostage “doesn't make any difference at all” to the government’s developing strategy in the region, officials say.

Britain was already weighing whether to bomb IS targets when the group released a video Tuesday depicting the killing of a second US journalist. Following an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday morning, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said there was still no decision on that point.

“We can’t allow [the new video] to change our overall strategy,” he said. “If we judge that airstrikes could be beneficial … then we will certainly consider them.”

The British and American authorities have confirmed the authenticity of the video, which depicts the murder of Steven Sotloff in a similar manner to journalist James Foley’s last month. Sotloff had been kidnapped in Syria for more than a year, while Foley, who reported for GlobalPost, had been held there for almost two years.

Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament on Wednesday that Britain would never give in to terrorism.

“There is no way to appease [IS],” he said. “The only way to defeat it is to stand firm and send a very straightforward message… If they think we will weaken in the face of their threat, they are wrong. It will have the opposite effect.”

The end of Tuesday's video shows a kneeling hostage identified in an onscreen caption as David Cawthorne Haines, a British citizen.

UK media aren’t naming the hostage, showing his photograph or reporting details about him.

He was abducted in Syria in early 2013 while working in a refugee camp in Turkey near the northern Syria border, according to various media reports.

“We’re not allowed to say anything,” a relative told the Telegraph newspaper.

Government officials confirmed Wednesday that the man was part of a group of hostages including Foley that a US special forces mission unsuccessfully sought to free this summer.

Media reports have identified the hostage as a father in his 40s who works in international development and logistics.

A LinkedIn profile shows that he was most recently employed at Astraea, a Croatian distribution company.

More from GlobalPost: Video showing beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff is authentic, Obama says

Nonviolent Peaceforce, a civilian peacekeeping group, confirmed to NBC News that he was employed there in 2012. A spokeswoman for Handicap International declined to comment Tuesday on reports of his employment there in 2011.

British officials also believe the black-clad man with a British accent in the Sotloff video is the same person shown brandishing a knife during Foley’s killing.

Dubbed “Jihadi John” in the British press, the man is believed to be among some 500 Britons believed to have traveled to Syria to take part in the conflict there.