**The government has refused to make a ransom payment to Somali pirates who have kidnapped a British couple.**Paul, 59, and Rachel Chandler, 55, from Kent, were taken hostage by gunmen as they sailed their yacht in the Indian Ocean in the early hours of 23 October.
A ransom demand of $7m (£4.3m) was made in a phone call to the BBC on Friday.
The Foreign Office said the couple were “blameless tourists” but said no payment would made nor advice given to the family to help them make a payment.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office added: “We are aware of reports that a ransom demand of $7m has been made. [Her Majesty’s Government] HMG’s policy remains clear: We will not make substantive concessions to hostage takers, including the payment of ransoms.”
The Chandlers, of Tunbridge Wells, had been travelling to Tanzania from the Seychelles. Their yacht was later found in international waters.