Paul Chamberlain is articulate, impossibly cheerful in the face of adversity and heroic – a Briton of the sort you might have thought would be seen no more after Lawrence Oates strode into the Antarctic snowstorm in an effort to save Scott and his other companions.
At the end of the Haines video, a fourth hostage, a Briton, appears kneeling and being threatened by the killer.
This weekend the Briton faces the prospect of financial ruin following the shattering news that the proceeds from her house sale – €181,000 (£155,000) – will remain frozen in the Bank of Cyprus as a result of capital controls enforced to contain the crisis.
William Pooley became the first confirmed Briton to contract Ebola and was flown back to the UK in August, where he was treated at the Royal Free hospital in London.
But even the most insular Briton vaguely knows that most EU states routinely run on coalition lines.
The 2012 Tour de France winner and London 2012 gold medallist pulverised the distance set by his fellow Briton Alex Dowsett and said: "That's the closest I will come to knowing what it's like to have a baby," although afterwards he would not be drawn on what his wife, Cath, had to say.
Congratulations on your achievement [Fiennes became the oldest Briton ever to complete the Marathon des Sables ultra-marathon race in the Sahara last Friday].
Cheshire's deputy chief constable, Graeme Gerrard, said the data undermined more sensational estimates, such as the widely-repeated but dubious claim that the average Briton passes under 300 cameras a day.
Another Briton feared missing is Laura Wood, 23, from Huddersfield, described by a friend as a "glowing, lovely, beautiful young girl".
Even France, which has a huge economy and powerful global influence, has lost all real influence," remarked Briton Robert Lowe.
The 24-year-old, who won 400m gold in the hurdles at the European Championships – the first Briton to do so since Kriss Akabusi in 1990 – scored a penalty against Real Madrid as a 13-year-old playing football for Swansea City.
