- Police discovered Khalil Dale's head and body wrapped in plastic in the southwestern city of Quetta
- Note on body said he had been 'slaughtered for not paying a ransom amount'
- ICRC condemned death as a 'barbaric act',
- Pro-Taliban militants are active in the province where he was killed
- 'I utterly condemn the kidnapping and killing of Mr Dale,' said William Hague
By Keith Gladdis, Imtiaz Hussain and Ian Garland
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The Red Cross bosses of slaughtered doctor Khalil Dale have confirmed they had contact with his kidnappers and refused to pay a ransom to free him.
The 60-year-old British aid worker was found beheaded and riddled with bullets on a roadside in Pakistan on Saturday.
His head and body were discovered wrapped in a plastic bag with a note addressed to the chief of police, which read: 'This is the body of Khalil who we have slaughtered for not paying a ransom amount'.
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Experienced: Dale had worked for the ICRC and the British Red Cross in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq before coming to Pakistan
Khalil Dale, 60, was taken at gunpoint in January while he was working with the Red Cross in the south-west city of Quetta.
Sean Maguire, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has confirmed that the organisation had been in contact with the kidnappers but refused to reveal any details.
He said the organisation had a policy of not paying ransoms.
Mr Maguire explained: 'We said that we had some contact with the abductors but we wouldn't want to give succour to future kidnappers by saying we countenanced paying a ransom.
'We did everything possible to try to get Khalil out and we are very sad that our efforts failed.
'We put every effort that we could into liberating him and it is deeply, deeply unfortunate that we did not manage to free him. His death, to our mind, is senseless and barbaric.'
The Pakistani High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, also condemned the killing as barbaric.
'No word can describe the dastardly act of killing an innocent person who was all his life working in aid of the helpless and destitute," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
He said the authorities in Pakistan were now trying to establish who was responsible.
'We are investigating because these things happen in that area. We are trying to find out who they actually are, whether they are Pakistani Taliban or Afghani Taliban. They could be anybody because the game has become so murky in that area,' he said.
Local police said the Pakistani Taliban had claimed responsibility for the killing.
Tragic: Pakistani police officials carry the covered body along a street in Quetta
David Cameron last night described the killing of Mr Dale, a Muslim convert who was also known as Ken, as a 'shocking and merciless act'.
The Prime Minister said: 'I was deeply saddened to hear today about the brutal murder of Khalil Dale – a man who was killed whilst providing humanitarian support to others.
'This was a shocking and merciless act, carried out by people with no respect for human life and the rule of law. Khalil Dale has dedicated many years of his life to helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world and my thoughts today are with his friends and family.'
The health programme manager from Dumfries, Scotland, was travelling home from a school in the troubled Baluchistan province in a clearly marked Red Cross vehicle when he was stopped and kidnapped.
He had been working in the country for a year after postings in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Friends said Mr Dale – who started his career as a nurse at Dumfries and Galloway Infirmary – had been planning to travel to Australia to marry his partner Anne, who he is believed to have met while working abroad.
He had previously returned to Scotland to look after his mother, Margaret, who died in 2007.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said he learned of the death 'with great sadness', adding that 'tireless efforts' had been made to secure Mr Dale's release.
Mr Hague said: 'I utterly condemn the kidnapping and killing of Mr Dale, and send my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. This was a senseless and cruel act.'
Mr Dale's brother Ian, who lives in New Zealand, travelled to Pakistan ten days after he was taken to try to secure his release. At the time he said police had identified the group involved.
Brutal: A sharp knife was used to sever his head from the body, said the doctor who first examined him
Speaking earlier this year to appeal for his release, Mr Dale's step-niece, Justine Barber, 41, described him as an honourable man doing an honest job.
She said: 'He is a lovely man whose lifelong ambition has been to serve those less fortunate.'
Friends of Mr Dale last night described him as 'an absolutely lovely guy' who had devoted his life to caring for others.
Mr Dale's step-niece, Justine Barber
Retired nurse Sheila Howat, a former colleague, said: 'It's dreadful what has happened to him, really awful. The world has lost someone who really cared for others.
'I think the circumstances are absolutely barbaric and disgraceful. He did not deserve that end to his life.
'I knew him as Ken, and he was an absolutely lovely person, devoted to caring for others less fortunate than himself.
'He spent time in war-torn countries where help was needed and people were desperate, and that was Ken's goal in life.'
She plans to contact other friends of Mr Dale to arrange a memorial service in Dumfries where he was a member of Friends of the Earth and the Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Mr Dale – who was born in Yemen and was fluent in Arabic and Swahili – had been no stranger to danger.
On previous assignments with the Red Cross, he had been imprisoned and tortured and robbed at gunpoint.
In 1994, he was awarded an MBE for his humanitarian work in some of the world's hot spots.
A Red Cross spokesman said it 'condemns in the strongest possible terms this barbaric act'.
He added: 'We are devastated. Khalil was a trusted and very experienced staff member who significantly contributed to the humanitarian cause.'
Police said Mr Dale's body was found in an orchard near Quetta. Police chief Ahsan Mahboob verified details and wording of the note on his body.
Honoured: Mr Dale after being awarded the MBE at Buckingham Palace with his brother Ian and Ian's wife Janet and friend Andrea
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