The UK's newly appointed hostage envoy wants to build international alliances to prevent state hostage-taking. Alistair Burt, who became the UK’s first special envoy for complex consular affairs last month, warned that state hostage-taking was on the rise, but that countries could work together to prevent it. He said he had met with counterparts among the Five Eyes Group and the Gulf states in the hope of strengthening the network of countries affected by state hostage-taking.