Libyan leader Colonel Gadafy has pledged his help to free the British hostage Ken Bigley in Iraq.
Members of the Gadafy family have promised to talk to their Middle East contacts after Mr Bigley's brother, Paul, pleaded with the Libyan leader's London-based son Saif for assistance.
Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern also vowed to step up diplomatic contacts with Jordan and Iran as a host of different parties join the attempt to secure the engineer's release.
The Bigley family have thanked supporters at a prayer service in their native Liverpool.
On the steps of Liverpool's Anglican cathedral, a message of thanks from Mr Craig Bigley, Ken's son, was read out to around 1,000 people who had joined a multi-faith event.
Mr Bigley's mother, Elizabeth, is understood to remain in hospital after suffering from the stress brought on by her son's ordeal.
The engineer, who has now been in captivity for 18 days, is being held by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his Tawhid and Jihad group, who have already beheaded his two American co-workers.
His last message to the outside world was in a video message which showed him shackled and dispirited, caged inside a metal cell.
PA
