British hostage Norman Kember and two colleagues have been freed in Iraq.

Kember, 74, from north-west London, was seized in Baghdad with two Canadians and an American in November.

Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden were also freed in the operation on Thursday.

The body of American Tom Fox was found in Baghdad earlier this month.

Kember, a retired professor, was seized during a peace mission to Baghdad on November 26.

The news was greeted with joy by Mr Kembers friends and supporters.

Chris Cole, director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, where Mr Kember is a trustee, said: We are obviously delighted to have Norman, James Loney and Harmeet Sooden free.

It is what we have been hoping and praying for for months but at the same time we continue to mourn Tom Fox and to continue to think of his friends and family.

We also continue to mourn all the lives lost in this dreadful war.

A member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams said: I shall be giving Norman a big hug when I see him. Its just amazing to have this news.

Pat Gaffney, general secretary of Pax Christi, said: The people of Iraq are daily going through the same kind of turmoil that we are going through and really the work of bringing peace to Iraq will have to go on.

She described Mr Kember as a man of great strength... a man of great humanity... totally dedicated to peace.

Well just see when Norman comes home how he wants to continue his peace work.

Imagining how he endured his ordeal, she said: I would just imagine he was very focused, very clear about what he was doing and why he was there; very focused on his faith.

Official confirmation of the release was given by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in a statement in Downing Street this morning.

Mr Straw said: The three hostages, Norman Kember, the British hostage, and two Canadians have been released as a result of a multinational forces operation which took place earlier today.

British forces were involved in this operation.

It follows weeks and weeks of very careful work by our military and coalition personnel in Iraq and many civilians as well.

In a statement, a 10 Downing Street spokesman said: The Prime Minister is delighted by the news. He is particularly pleased for those released and their families.

He congratulates everyone involved in the operation to rescue the hostages.