North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly has welcomed news that a 79-year-old Irish priest, held hostage for a month by rebels in the Philippines, has been released.
Fr Michael Sinnott was seized by gunmen from his mission office in Pagadian on Mindanao island on 11 October.
The Irish government said it had not paid a ransom for the release of the Columban missionary.
Gerry Kelly and former British Government Chief of Staff Jonathan Powell were involved in behind-the-scenes talks with the Philippine government and rebels to secure the Irish priest's release.
The North Belfast MLA said he had been telephoned directly by a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) intermediary this morning to announce Fr Sinnott's release.
"We welcome Fr Sinnott's release.The family are very relieved he's out and he's safe," Gerry Kelly said.
"I got a call this morning from an MILF intermediary, basically saying there was an MILF taskforce who found the priest in a coastal village of Zamboanga City.
"They immediately handed him over to their peace negotiating committee who in turn got in touch with the Philippines government and handed him over to them.
"The word is that Fr Sinnott was in the hands of a guy, a notorious pirate called Commander Inggo in the area of Lanao del Norte. We had emails from MILF about the situation talking about how certain politicians were blaming them.
“We advised them to resist this and they told us they would try their best and they obviously have."
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