Scottish Oil Worker 'Kidnapped' In Indonesia

A Scottish oil worker has reportedly been kidnapped in Indonesia, and the Foreign Office is "in touch with the local authorities".

Malcolm Primrose is said to have been ambushed on Tuesday by an armed group in Lubuk Pempeng village, the restive Aceh region.

"The man was on his way to a drilling site when at least four men with firearms stopped his car," provincial police spokesman Gustav Leo told the AFP news agency.

The kidnappers tied up his driver before taking the Briton to their car and driving off, said the spokesman. Details of the incident came from the driver, an Indonesian.

"We are pursuing the kidnappers based on the witness's testimony. We don't know yet their motive," he said.

The Foreign Office said: "We are aware of an incident and are in touch with the local authorities."

Mr Primrose, in his early 60s, had been working as a sub-contractor for a subsidiary of Medco Energi Internasional, which confirmed the kidnapping.

A worker "of British nationality was taken by force from his car by an unknown group of people near a working area on Tuesday around 11am," the company's corporate secretary, Imron Gazali, said in a statement.

"The firm conveyed its deep concern to the worker's family and will continue to make the greatest effort possible for the person to be returned to his family as soon as possible," he said.

The British embassy in Jakarta said in a statement: "We can confirm a British national was involved in an incident in Aceh yesterday. We are in touch with the local authorities and his family. An embassy team has deployed to the area. "

Mr Primrose was reportedly working on a drilling project to explore for gas in the jungles of the resource-rich province, and Tuesday was meant to be his last day in the area.

Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, was the site of a bloody separatist war for three decades. The fighting ended in 2005, though experts warn that firearms left over from the conflict could present a security threat.