THE journalist snatched from his Iraq hotel room by masked gunmen is a University of York graduate, the Evening Press can reveal.

James Brandon, 23, was today recovering from his 24-hour ordeal after renegade fighters handed him back to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the battle-torn city of Basra.

Former York flatmates of the history student, who knew him as Andrew Nassim, said they were "shocked" to see his face on TV, but "overjoyed" by news that he was safe.

They were joined by University of York chancellor-elect and former BBC director general Greg Dyke, who told the Evening Press that he was delighted at the story's "happy ending".

He said: "The situation looked ominous, but it's very good news for his family and the university that he's now been released. You can never tell which way it will go. Luckily this time it has had a happy ending."

Mr Nassim, who received a first-class degree in 2001, travelled to the Middle East after studying the region's history at York and at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

He was working as a freelance reporter for the Sunday Telegraph newspaper and had experience at several other titles in Iraq, including the now defunct Baghdad Bulletin.

York civil servant Richard Crabtree, 24, who lived with Mr Nassim in Heworth, described his friend as a "popular guy" who had a strong interest in matters in the Middle East.

He said: "We are all ecstatic, overjoyed and relieved to see that he is all right. He is a driven, dynamic kind of guy and it was surreal to see him on the news." Fellow Alcuin College student Andrew Payne, 25, said: "This must have been terrible for his parents. All his friends are just pleased to hear he is OK."

His parents, Ramsay and Hilary, live in Chelsea, in London.

His mother confirmed last night that he was in good spirits.

Speaking on the steps of the Foreign Office, following a phone conversation with her son, she said he had been joking about a black eye suffered during his ordeal.

She said: "There must have been hundreds of people here and all over Iraq helping him.

"I've just spoken to him on the phone and he was joking about his black eye. He was happy."

The Foreign Office confirmed that James had been handed over to British officials in southern Iraq and said: "He's safe and well and in the hands of the British Office in Basra."

A Sunday Telegraph spokesman said although the young journalist has left Basra, it is not clear whether he will return home to London.

He said: "Obviously we are extremely relieved that James has been released unhurt. This is a terrible situation for any journalist to be in."

Updated: 11:03 Saturday, August 14, 2004