I went without guards, arms or a locater device

I went back to Beirut and for the first few days spent time visiting various people in the town, trying to pick up leads and I didn't get very far.

Then the telephone rang and I recognised the voice of my contact and he asked me if I would meet him.

I said I would - that's why I was there, I wanted to try and see if we could pick up the negotiation again.

I arranged to meet him at the doctor's consulting room and on the evening in question I went there without guards, arms or a locater device.

He said, "On previous occasions you've asked to see the hostages."

I said, "Yes, I have."

He said, "We haven't allowed it, but this time we're going to let you see them, because they're sick and they're very depressed as a result of all these happenings [the US arms for hostages scandal] in recent weeks."

'We will not keep you'

I said to him what any sensible person would have said:

"If I come with you, you'll keep me."

But he denied this.

I asked him to give me his hand and assurance that he wouldn't.

He stretched out his hand and said, "We will not keep you".

I told him he was asking a great deal and requested 24 hours to think about it. He agreed and said if I wanted to see the hostages I should come back to this place tomorrow night.

Emergency

I consulted with various people - the advice differed and really the decision was mine.

I felt that if I'd been given safe conduct, if the man was telling me the truth and if I didn't go and one of the hostages died, then I'd have to live with my conscience for the rest of my life.

And I didn't want to live with a bad conscience.

So the next night I went back to the doctor's consulting room and immediately I had the feeling that something was wrong, because as soon as I got there the telephone rang.

The doctor answered it and he said, "I'm sorry I've got to leave you, there's an emergency at the hospital."

I asked him to wait for a moment until the man came, but he said he had to go now - and he left.

And I remember pacing up and down in his consulting room thinking what I should do at this point. But I thought as I had come so far I should go through with it.

Underground garage

Then I heard the elevator come up and my contact stepped into the room. I was given a quick body search.

I was taken in a car, then we changed cars, then I was blindfolded, then we went to a safe house and I was given a change of clothing.

We were moved from house to house in order to shake off a tail. Then after three or four days he said, "Right we're going to see the hostages."

I was taken down in the night, put into a van and driven across town. We came to what I believed was an underground garage beneath a block of flats.

	That was it - I was a hostage, no longer a negotiator

I was told to get out of the van and there in the floor there was a trapdoor.

He said, "Jump down."

I jumped down, was pushed across the room and the door closed behind me and when I took my blindfold off I was in a tiled cell.

Then I realised that was it: I was a hostage, no longer a negotiator.

You can read Terry Waite's account of his release by clicking on the link in the right hand column.

	E-mail this story to a friend