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United Kingdom: More Likely than Not, a Bomb Downed the Russian Airliner

He said he would speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin about the latest developments.

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“But if the intelligence is, and the judgment is, that that is a more likely than not outcome, then I think that it is right to act in the way that I did”, he said.

After the meeting, Cameron’s office said the two countries “agreed on a package of additional security measures that is being put into place rapidly” and that flights back to the United Kingdom will resume Friday.

“We are working with the airlines to ensure there are suitable arrangements in place to reunite passengers with their belongings as soon as possible”, a No 10 spokesperson said.

Only eight out of 29 planned flights to Britain were to leave Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday, according to Egypt’s civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal, who said this was due to the requirement that passengers take only their hand luggage.

Flight KGL9268, was flying at altitude of 30,000 feet (9,150 metres) when it lost contact with authorities, 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia’s second city.

“Until we know the real reasons for what happened, I consider it expedient to stop Russian flights to Egypt”, said Bortnikov.

The two leaders appeared at a joint press conference in Downing Street, to which only a handful of journalists had been invited, as more airlines cancelled or delayed flights in and out of Sharm including flights from several European destinations.

Britain has sent a security team to the Sharm el-Sheikh airport to determine what changes are needed to make travel there safe, but Egypt — which stands to lose millions of dollars from its vital tourism industry — maintains there is nothing wrong with the facility, which each year welcomes thousands of vacationers to the resort beside the crystal-clear Red Sea.

A US official told CNN that the “specificity” in the chatter surrounding the crash of the Russian jet drew the attention of the USA intelligence community.

Before Friday, the Kremlin had said firmly it was too early to say what caused the crash and that all theories, including the possibility of technical failure, should be examined by the official investigation.

The UK Government suspended air links on Wednesday after an Airbus 321 operated by Russian airline Metrojet crashed last Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.

The British Ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, talks to British tourists after the announcement by easyJet staff that there would not be any more flights today to evacuate tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh, south Sinai, Egypt, today.

Also on Thursday, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron said the jet had “more likely than not” been taken down by a bomb.

It has also been reported that British spies uncovered an Islamic State (IS) bomb plot in the region following the tragedy.

Leading terrorism expert Professor Clive Williams from Macquarie University said it is possible a similar attack could be carried out closer to Australia.

“Australia has very tough aviation safety requirements”, Justice Minister Michael Keenan said.

The signs pointing to ISIS, another USA official said, are partially based on monitoring of the terrorist group’s internal messages. The airline plans to get five flights out of the resort’s airport today.

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A Thomson spokesman said: “All Thomson flights out of Sharm el-Sheikh are continuing as planned”. The plane crashed about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the area, Egyptian authorities said. Anonymous USA officials have indicated it could have been a bomb.

Mikhail Klimentyev  Pool