The 74-year-old arrived by car at his home in Pinner, north west London, shortly before 2.45pm. After greeting a group of well-wishers, who cheered and waved as they arrived, a smiling Mr Kember waved again as he crossed the threshold of his home for the first time in four months.

He had earlier touched down at Heathrow Airport at 12.22pm, on a six-hour British Airways flight from Kuwait.

He said in a statement at the airport: "I do not believe that a lasting peace is achieved by armed force but I pay tribute to their courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue."

Mr Kember was one of four westerners seized on November 26 while on a visit to support the Canada-based international peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).

Three days later, video footage released by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, showed Mr Kember, American Tom Fox, 54, and Canadians James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32.

Mr Fox was found shot dead in Baghdad earlier this month in the affluent Mansour district. There were signs that he had been beaten before being killed.

But according to Peggy Gish, a CPT member in Baghdad, Mr Kember and the two Canadians, who were also freed by special forces, did not appear to have been tortured or abused by their captors.

For much of the time they were not tied up and the kidnappers had provided Mr Kember with medication for an illness, she said.

Mr Kember is known to suffer from high blood pressure and an aneurysm.

Earlier it was claimed that the UK authorities promised the Kember family and his church that they would not attempt a rescue unless they could be reasonably confident that no-one would be killed.

The Rev Bob Gardiner, of the Harrow Baptist Church, said: "We are happy to say thank you to all those who used their professional expertise, patience and restraint in the successful rescue of Norman, James and Harmeet on Thursday.

"We are also grateful to the British Government for its close co-operation with myself and the Kember family since Norman was kidnapped in November.

"We were impressed by the sensitivity with which it responded to our concerns about any possible use of force in any rescue attempt.

"We are thankful for the way in which they honoured their promises to intervene only when there was a considerable degree of assurance that there would be no loss of life.

"We are also grateful for the compassionate way in which Pat in particular was guided and protected, encouraged and kept up to date during the period of Norman's captivity and the kindness shown by those in direct contact with her."

Neither the Foreign Office nor the Ministry of Defence would comment on whether any promises were made to Mr Kember's family and friends about the nature of the rescue operation.

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