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| Algeria hostage crisis: Britons still 'at risk' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Fewer than 30 Britons are still "at risk" in the hostage situation at a remote desert gas facility in Algeria, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. | |
| One Briton was killed when militants ambushed a convoy on Wednesday, but the fate of others was unclear. | |
| Mr Cameron said the number was "significantly" lower than Thursday's estimate of 30, but he could not give any further details. | |
| He expressed "disgust and condemnation" at the "brutal and savage attack". | |
| Mr Cameron updated MPs on the situation after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, Cobra. | |
| He described the attack as "large, well co-ordinated and heavily armed" and appeared to be pre-planned. | |
| As the situation was still ongoing, he said he could not give details of the exact numbers of Britons affected. | |
| BP, which owns part of the facility, said there was "a small number" of its employees "whose current location and situation remain uncertain". | |
| Algerian troops had attempted to free the hostages on Thursday by storming the residential compound where most were thought to be. | |
| Mr Cameron said he was not told in advance about Thursday's operation despite asking to be notified before any further action was taken. | |
| The PM said the site was 18 hours by road from Algiers, and "one of the most remote places in the world" which meant it was difficult to get a full picture of what was happening. | |
| "Last night the number of British citizens at risk was less than 30. Thankfully we now know that number has now been quite significantly reduced. | |
| "During an ongoing operation I cannot say more on this at this stage." | |
| From Algerian authorities he had learnt that "terrorists" first attacked two buses travelling to an airfield, then the residential compound and the gas facility, taking hostages at two locations. | |
| Foreign nationals from at least seven other countries are involved, but precise numbers are not clear. | |
| When the initial attack happened, Mr Cameron said the Algerians were offered British "technical and intelligence support", including hostage negotiation and rescue teams. This was declined. |