The release of the hostage video to the British Embassy in Baghdad, rather than through a media outlet as has occurred in the past, could be a sign that negotiations are moving in the right direction.

After months of silence, the footage of Peter Moore offers fresh “proof of life” and renewed hope for the relatives and friends of the five men who have endured almost two years of captivity.

It is unclear how the case will be resolved, however, with the kidnappers still demanding the release of certain prisoners held in American rather than British detention, including Qais al-Khazaali, a former spokesman for the al-Mahdi Army.

“The British government is very limited in what it can do,” said a source closely monitoring developments.

A question mark also hangs over the effectiveness of government policy to remain taciturn about the abduction. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office believes that keeping the story off the front pages could help to facilitate the hostages' release. It was again requesting yesterday that coverage should remain low-key.

This theory has failed to bear fruit so far, while the intense media coverage of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist kidnapped in Gaza in 2007, may have hastened his release.

Iraq became infamous as a hunting ground for foreigners at the height of the insurgency, led by Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda, after the 2003 invasion. Names such as those of Kenneth Bigley and Margaret Hassan became synonymous with the terrifying threat of kidnap and execution by al-Qaeda-associated groups. Mr Bigley, a British civil engineer, was abducted and beheaded in October 2004. Mrs Hassan, a British-Irish aid worker, was seized weeks later and shot dead.

In contrast, the five Britons are believed to have been taken by Shia militants with links to Iran, rather than Sunni Islamist extremists. There was a heightened state of alert following their abduction, but the threat of kidnap to foreigners has dissipated since then, thanks to a major improvement in security following operations by US and British-backed Iraqi forces.

“It has definitely died down a bit for foreigners,” said a British security guard who operates in Baghdad.

“A lot of the insurgents have been cleared out to a certain degree . . . It is becoming a lot harder [to kidnap someone],” he said, noting that the streets of Baghdad and those across the country generally are teeming with police and soldiers.

Legitimate checkpoints stand at frequent intervals along most of Iraq's main roads. In the past, highways leading in and out of Baghdad were notorious for fake checkpoints manned by militants looking to cause trouble.

The improved security also means that fewer Iraqis are being abducted. Thousands of Iraqis have gone missing since the invasion as a sectarian war erupted, particularly between 2005 and 2007.

In a sign of the increased confidence in security, eight western tourists – five Britons, two Americans and a Canadian – embarked on a two-week group tour of Iraq that ended yesterday. It was the first such visit since mid-2003.

Hinterland Travel, an adventure tour company, organised the trip, which included a tour of the Castle of Arbil (a relic of the medieval Ottoman empire in Iraq's northern Kurdish region), the al-Askari mosque in Samarra, one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam, and the southern city of Basra.

“I don't want to write myself out of a job, but the situation is certainly improving,” said the British security guard.

Despite the improvements, dangers remain. Foreign journalists in Iraq, an easy target, continue to be mindful of where they go, who they meet and how long they stay in one place.

Record of a kidnapping

May 29, 2007 About 40 gunmen seize Peter Moore and his bodyguards, who include Jason

December 4, 2007 The kidnappers say they will kill one of the hostages unless British troops withdraw from Iraq in ten days

February 26, 2008 In a video Mr Moore pleads for release of Iraqi prisoners

July 20, 2008 A video claims that Jason has killed himself

Sept 28, 2008 The kidnappers offer to hand over the body of Jason in exchange for female and elderly Iraqi detainees

Nov 16, 2008 Friends of Peter Moore launch www.4pete.org

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