Gordon Brown is demanding the immediate release of three British hostages in Iraq as tributes are paid to the two dead captives whose remains were handed over to authorities.
Security officers Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst, who were confirmed dead on Sunday, were among a group of five men taken hostage in Baghdad in 2007.
But the fate of the three others - IT consultant Peter Moore, from Lincoln, and two other guards named only as Alan, from Scotland, and Alec, from South Wales - is still unknown.
The PM has sent his condolences to Mr Creswell's and Mr Swindlehurst's families, who he said had received "the worst possible news after two years of very anxious waiting".
Sources said the tests on the remains show they had not been mutilated - but warned it could take British scientists several days to discover exactly how they died.
Speaking at Downing Street, Mr Brown called for the three other hostages to be released immediately and said there is "no justification" for hostage-taking.
Mr Brown said he had contacted the Iraqi prime minister and is working to secure the men's release "as soon as possible".
The remains of Mr Creswell, originally from Glasgow, and Mr Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, were handed over to authorities in Baghdad late on Friday.
After Foreign Secretary David Miliband said everyone involved in efforts to release the men had "failed", the families of the other hostages spoke of the heartache.
Mr Moore's father Graeme described the wait for confirmation as "torture" - but said his thoughts are now with the family members of Mr Creswell and Mr Swindlehurst.
by the press association
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