THE Bangladeshi prime minister has been urged to intervene in negotiations for the release of a North-East man held hostage in the country.

The call has come from Jon Selby, the brother of Tim Selby, 28, of Jesmond, Newcastle, who was captured by tribal gunmen a month ago.

Mr Selby has appealed to Sheikh Hasina Wajed to replace 82-year-old Kalparanjan Chakma, who is talking to the kidnappers.

He said: "We want the prime minister to use her influence in the area when it comes to negotiations with the kidnappers.

"Ultimately it's damaging for her own country's reputation, especially when it's so dependent on aid from the West."

Engineer Mr Selby was kidnapped on February 16 with two Danish colleagues, Torben Mikkelsen, 48 and Nils Hulgaard, 64.

They were snatched as they worked in the hills of south-east Bangladesh. The bandits placed a £1.1m ransom on their heads.