UK families beg IS Beatle: Where are loved ones’ bodies?

A MEMBER of the Islamic State cell nicknamed the ‘Beatles’ was last night urged to reveal the location of the bodies of murdered British aid workers.

It came after Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty in a US court to multiple charges including conspiracy to murder.

Relatives of Britons Alan Henning and David Haines – who were murdered in Syria – said he should say where their remains are after admitting his role in their capture for the first time.

Kotey, 37, who grew up in London, admitted eight charges relating to US victims of IS at the District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, late on Thursday.

As part of a plea bargain, he will be allowed to return to Britain after 15 years in an American jail. Only then will he face justice for crimes against British nationals and spend the rest of his life in a UK prison.

Kotey, pictured, was captured with another of the ‘Beatles’, El Shafee Elsheikh, in Syria in 2018 and later handed to US troops in Iraq. His plea agreement drew mixed reactions from UK victims’ relatives. Alan Henning’s elder brother Reg, from Manchester, said: ‘I would have liked to see him get the death penalty. ‘Alan’s body has never been found and that really hurts. Kotey ought to have been forced to say where Alan’s remains and those of the other hostages are.’ David Haines’s daughter Bethany, from Perth in Scotland, said: ‘My family are… glad Alexanda Kotey has finally admitted his guilt and justice will be served.’ She told ITV News: ‘We ask Kotey and Elsheikh to please give us the closure we need and tell us what happened and where my dad’s remains are.’ Kotey was one of a cell of four IS militants called the ‘Beatles’ by their captives due to their British accents. Elsheikh will stand trial in America next year.