Gordon Brown insisted today that the Government had “left no stone unturned” in trying to secure the release of British hostages in Iraq, fending off criticism over its handling of the saga.

The bodies of two of the five captives were handed over to the Iraqi authorities this weekend, but the father of one of those still missing hit out at the way the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had dealt with the issue.

Graeme Moore, who is anxiously awaiting news of the fate of his son, Peter, an IT consultant, told GMTV: “They haven’t done anything. They should have been straight in directing negotiations right from the beginning.”

He also dismissed David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, as "a waste of space".

The Prime Minister defended the handling of the kidnapping, telling reporters: “I can assure you that we have left no stone unturned in our efforts to release the hostages, to work with the Iraqi authorities to maintain our vigilance about what needs to be done, and to look at all possible means by which we could free them.”

British officials confirmed yesterday two of the hostages - security guards Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst - were dead.

They were among a group of five Britons, also including Mr Moore, from Lincoln, and two other guards identified only as Alan from Scotland and Alec from South Wales, kidnapped in Baghdad in May 2007.

Tonight Jan Beattie, a friend of friend of Mr Creswell, issued a statement which she said was on behalf of all five families.

“We are deeply stunned and saddened by the tragic and upsetting news of the deaths of Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst," the statement said.

"We ask those still holding Alec, Alan and Peter to release them and allow them to return home to their families as soon as possible. Our grief is profound, but we remain united in our support for each other as a family group and we have been extremely touched by the messages of support we have received over the past 48 hours.

"We would now ask the media and public to give us, particularly those who have lost loved ones, the privacy we need to come to terms with this extremely shocking news in our own way.”

There had been fresh hope after the release early this month of a senior Iraqi insurgent that the men could soon be freed.

Mr Moore, 59, a delivery driver from Leicestershire, said that he continued to hope his son was alive but added that waiting for confirmation was “torture”.

He strongly criticised the FCO for not doing enough to help the men and singled out Mr Brown and Mr Miliband for particular criticism.

“Unfortunately the way Gordon Brown and David Miliband have handled this case is bad news for the other two families,” he said. “Miliband is a total waste of space.”

He added: “We will keep pushing on for Peter. We will do right until the end; until either Peter is released or we get the worst news.”

The Prime Minister, who last night spoke to Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki, sent his condolences to the families of the dead men and said the bodies would be returned to them “very soon”.

“For these families I know this is a very difficult time. After two years of waiting and the anxieties of that, they have now been given the worst possible news.”

He went on: “I spoke to Prime Minister Maliki in Iraq last night and I emphasised our determination to do everything we can to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

“I also emphasised to him that the British Government will work with the Iraqi authorities to do everything we can until their ordeal is over.

“I just want to assure the public that every time I have been in touch with Prime Minister Maliki over these last two years, this is an issue which has been right at the top of our agenda because we wished to secure the safety of these hostages.”

Mr Brown called on the hostage takers to return British and Iraqi prisoners immediately.

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