Video emerges of British banker held by al-Qaeda in Mali If Britain ignored the offer, the statement added, it would "bear the consequences." Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in Johannesburg yesterday, Mr McGown's father Malcolm said the video provided them with some hope. "The video is very old now but it does raise hopes and we certainly hope he will be out soon but we just don't know," he said. He looked different with the beard and he has probably lost a bit of weight but I hope he looks the same now as he did then. It's very hard to assess just on a picture like that how he is because he can't be normal I guess, it's all posed by them and he must do what they tell him. He said that neither he, nor Mr McGown's wife Catherine, who has moved from the couple's Putney, West London to Johannesburg, had heard from the kidnappers since he was taken. We are still waiting to hear and there's been no ransom demand. We are leaving it up to the South African government and they are doing their best," he said. Mr McGown is understood to have worked for Investec in London but was taking the bike trip as a "final adventure" before settling back in South Africa, where his parents live. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said its officials had seen the "distressing" video and condemned its release. "The hostages' families are living through a terrible ordeal and this can only add to their distress," he said. We continue to provide all possible support to the Dutch, Swedish and South African Governments who are working to secure their citizens' safe and secure release. We reiterate our call to those holding the hostages to show compassion and release them immediately and unconditionally. No one from South Africa's Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) was available for comment.