20.40 Britain is reportedly requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the downing of the Malaysian aircraft. Philip Hammond, the new foreign secretary, has been in the job less than a week and is already facing a major international crisis.
From the Daily Mail:
Malaysian Airlines MH17 passenger plane carrying 295 people including between five and ten Britons ‘shot down with ground-to-air missile’ at 33,000ft over Ukraine near to Russian border
Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 shot down over territory held by Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine
Body parts and wreckage spread over nine-mile area, suggesting plane broke up mid-air
Whitehall sources say up to ten Britons feared dead, 23 Americans also thought to be on board
US President Barack Obama calls the crash a ‘terrible tragedy’, and offers condolences to passengers’ families
Ukrainian interior ministry says plane was shot down by a BUK surface-to-air missile
President Petro Poroshenko issued robust denial that his forces were involved
Pro-Russian rebels also denied shooting down the plane and blamed Ukrainian air force
Journalists in region say they saw a Buk-type launcher in pro-Russian rebel hands yesterday