Cameron and Sisi quizzed over Sinai crash response – as it happened | Egypt

Matthew Weaver

Thu 5 Nov 2015 18.02 GMT

First published on Thu 5 Nov 2015 07.56 GMT

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5 Nov 2015

17.47 GMT

Summary

Here’s an evening round-up of where we are now:

UK and US officials s said they believe the Russian plane that crashed over the Sinai peninsula may have been brought down by an explosive device.

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, Cameron said the Russian jet crash “more likely than not” caused by a bomb.

Cameron said his country would cooperate with Britain.

Ahead of the talks police removed campaigners who were blocking the entrance to Downing Street in protest at Sisi’s visit to the UK, because of his human rights record.

Moves have begun to fly home 20,000 British citizens stuck in the resort. easyJet says it will run nine flights to the UK from there on Friday.

earlier criticised the UK for not sharing its intelligence about the incident.

The German airline Lufthansa has halted flights between Germany and Sharm el-Sheikh until further notice.

5 Nov 201517.09 GMT

Following the meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, here’s some background, from David Blood in our data team, about the committee:

Today’s Cobra meeting is at least the 96th time the government’s emergency response committee has met since May 2010, according to publicly available data.

Taking its name from the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, Cobra meetings convene senior ministers and civil servants in response to urgent national or international situations – particularly those affecting national security.

Today’s meetings were convened following revelations that the Russian flight that crashed in Sinai may have been brought down by an explosive devise.

One of the first Cobra meetings of the coalition government were called in response to the Europe-wide air travel chaos caused by the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruptions.

Subsequent meetings have been called in response to events such as the 2011 riots in England, the Ebola crisis in West Africa and following a terrorist attack in Tunisia earlier this year which left 38 people dead, including 30 Britons.

5 Nov 201516.43 GMT

this update).

The leaders exchanged views on the situation with the crash of the Russian plane over the Sinai peninsula. Vladimir Putin stressed that assessment of the causes of the crash should be based on the data that would become available in the course of the official investigation that is currently underway. The discussion also covered joint efforts to combat international terrorism.

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5 Nov 201516.40 GMT

Some more full quotes from the press conference, via PA. First from Sisi:

Ten months ago we were asked by our British friends to send a team to Sharm el-Sheikh airport to make sure all the security procedures are enough and provide the adequate safety and security for passengers.

We understood their concern because they are really interested in the safety and security of their nationals. We received the teams, we cooperated with them and they checked the security operations - they were happy with that. And we are still ready to co-operate in this particular regard, not necessarily on one airport but on all airports.

I have found complete understanding and appreciation of the Egyptian efforts. We talked about the actions needed to make sure that this will not have any negative ramification on the future of tourism in Egypt and that in the soonest time possible we restore the movement of British tourists.

And Cameron:

We are working intensively together in the spirit of close cooperation and I am immensely grateful for all the efforts the Egyptian authorities have made so far.

Not only what Egypt has done in the past to increase the security of tourists but also the further steps that can be taken today which will help to make sure British citizens can return home after their holidays...

I am sure we will be able to bring those British holidaymakers home soon because of the level of cooperation between our two governments and - more than that - I am sure that we will be able, over time, to take the necessary action to restore the holidaymaking route from Britain to Sharm el-Sheikh and vice-versa.

5 Nov 201516.18 GMT

More news on plans to return UK tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh, following the

Sis and Cameron leave after their press conference. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AFP/Getty Images

Reuters is running Cameron’s initial quotes from the press conference, which I missed. He said:

We are working intensively together in the spirit of close cooperation and I’m immensely grateful for all the efforts the Egyptian authorities have made so far.

Sisi said:

We understood their concern because they are really interested in the safety and security of their nationals.

5 Nov 201515.53 GMT

The TV channels have cut away from the press conference. Before this, Cameron was asked by an Egyptian reporter about whether UK foreign policy was partly to blame for the rise of Islamic State – he, unsurprisingly, disagrees – and what he plans to do about the UK presence of the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed in Egypt. Cameron says a November 5, 2015

My colleague Patrick Kingsley, previously based in Cairo, has another point to make:

A room of journos – and November 5, 2015

5 Nov 201515.45 GMT

Here’s a photo of the press conference.

**Cameron and Sis at the press conference. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA**

5 Nov 201515.42 GMT

Cameron says he and Sisi have had “excellent discussions” on security for tourists, and further steps that could be taken.

In answer to a question about why the UK has taken the measures it has, he says:

My role is to act in the right way to keep British citizens safe and secure and to put their security first.

This is based on intelligence and advice, Cameron says, adding that there is no certainty that a bomb brought down the plane. He continues:

But if the intelligence and the judgement is that it was the more likely than not outcome, I think it was right to act in the way I did.

Cameron adds that he understands the worries of Britons either stranded in #BREAKING Egypt 'ready to co-operate' to ensure foreign tourists' security: Sisi

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 5, 2015

5 Nov 201515.20 GMT

President Sisi leaves Downing Street after his talks with David Cameron.

5 Nov 201515.04 GMT

German airline Lufthansa has halted flights between Germany and Sharm el-Sheikh until further notice, writes Kate Connolly in Berlin.

Lufthansa said it would continue to fly to the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

German travel agents who have clients currently holidaying on the Sinai peninsula are in consultation with the German foreign ministry about how to bring them back home.

A special transport has already been arranged to fly them back via Zurich, on Sunday, a Lufthansa spokesman said.

However holiday companies said they would continue to offer holidays to Sharm el-Sheikh. “What’s most important is the recommendations of the foreign ministry,” Sibylle Zeuch, spokeswoman for the German Travel Association (DRV) said in a statement. So far the foreign ministry in Berlin has not issued any recommendation that Germans should not travel to the Sinai peninsula. It was unclear whether it would do so.

According to the DRV around 2000 German holidaymakers are currently stranded in Sharm el-Sheik and in the seaside resort Dahab, around 90 km away. Most Germans favour the coastal resorts of Hurghada and Marsa Alam, which are not on the peninsula, the DRV said, while Sharm el-Sheikh is seen as the British and Russian resort of choice.

5 Nov 201514.57 GMT

Stranded tourist in Sharm el-Sheikh have been voicing their frustrations.