British wife 'held by Al Qaeda gang'
The Kenyan army today deployed helicopter gunships and speedboats to search for a British woman as fears grew that she has been kidnapped by Islamist militants.
Scores of soldiers and police officers were scouring a large area in an attempt to find Judith Tebbutt, 56, who was snatched by a gang from a holiday resort near the Kenyan border with Somalia.
Her husband, David, a 58-year-old publishing executive, was murdered yesterday morning as he tried to fight off the armed bandits at the £600-a-night Kiwayu Safari Village,
30 miles from war-torn Somalia.
Initial reports suggested the couple were targeted in their beach cottage by Somali pirates, who have captured several Western hostages in raids on ships and yachts in the Indian Ocean. However, Kenyan police today said: "We suspect they were (taken by) al-Shabaab and that is why the search is being concentrated at the Somalia border."
Most of southern Somalia is controlled by the al-Shabaab group, which is linked to al Qaeda and is waging an insurgency against Somalia's fragile, Western-backed government.
"We are using all the tactics and resources available but we have not made any success so far - we hope to find her safe," said regional police commander Aggrey Adoli, who is leading the search.
The Foreign Office confirmed it has sent a team from Nairobi to work with Kenyan authorities in a bid to secure Mrs Tebbutt's release. Armed bandits arrived at the beach cottage, near the island of Lamu, by speedboat at midnight on Saturday.
Police say Mr Tebbutt, who was finance director at publishing house Faber and Faber, tried to resist the attack and was killed by a single gunshot to the head. Mrs Tebbutt was then forced into the vessel which sped off in the direction of Somalia.
The couple, from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, were targeted hours after arriving at the resort, which is popular with Rolling Stones singer Sir Mick Jagger, artist Tracey Emin and actress Imelda Staunton.
Kenyan police chief Mathew Iteere said: "There was only one shot, I think the husband resisted from what we gather - maybe they wanted to take the two, but he resisted."
Mr Iteere added that while the resort was protected by six police officers and 22 private guards, the beach cottages "do not even have a door, just cloth as the door, so they gained entry so easily".
Online tributes to Mr Tebbutt were posted today on Twitter. Another publishing executive, Chris McVeigh, wrote: "Horribly sad news about David Tebbutt. One of the good guys. Thoughts are with his family today and hope for the safe return of his wife."
Professor Iain Davidson, a publishing expert, added: "Unbelievably terrible news about my friend David Tebbutt murdered in Kenya and his wife kidnapped. Pray for them."
The couple were married 26 years and have one son, Oliver, who is a rising star in the world of furniture design. The 25-year-old studied at London's Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design and recently completed a course under internationally acclaimed furniture maker David Savage in Bideford, Devon.
Oliver was too upset to speak today as he waited anxiously for further news. Mr Savage told the Evening Standard: "Oliver is a very nice young man and this is terrible news for him. He was extremely capable, hard-working and very inventive."
