A BLACKPOOL hotelier says he will press ahead with a historic holiday tour to war-ravaged Iraq despite the murder of British hostage, Kenneth Bigley.

Phil Lalani says he will not be put off taking part in the first ever tourist trip to the Middle Eastern state after being invited to take part by his friend, tour organiser, Don Lucey.

"I guess it's a bit worrying, but I've talked it through with Don and he assures me we won't be going to any hot spots. Our itinerary will be completely secret.

"We'll only know about it on a day to day basis. Because of the amount of secrecy we are not going to be sticking out like sore thumbs and we are not going to be in one place all the time. People like Ken Bigley were carefully watched and the kidnappers took the opportunity to take him."

Despite the secrecy around the tour, Mr Lalani hopes to visit ancient and modern sites, from one of Saddam's Palaces to the remains of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Mr Lalani added: "I would have liked to have been to Berlin when the wall came down or visited Hong Kong when it was handed over to the Chinese, but I missed out. "This is one of the first tourist trips into Iraq. We're paving the way for future tourism."

"Five and a half thousand years ago the first ever form of writing came from Iraq.

"It was the home of Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian civilisations. There is a lot to see."

And Mr Lalani admits some surprise over the amount of media attention the journey has received, with the eminent Wall Street Journal and The Times amongst the newspapers which have spoken to him.

"I've kept quite low key, but all the interest started when Don gave an interview and mentioned my name and that I owned a hotel in Blackpool."