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| David Cameron says Ebola screening needed to 'keep people safe' | David Cameron says Ebola screening needed to 'keep people safe' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| British Prime Minister David Cameron has said the government is right to take action "to keep our own people safe" from the Ebola virus. | British Prime Minister David Cameron has said the government is right to take action "to keep our own people safe" from the Ebola virus. |
| His comments came after the government decided to screen some people arriving in the UK for the virus. | His comments came after the government decided to screen some people arriving in the UK for the virus. |
| Ministers initially said there were no plans to screen people arriving from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. | Ministers initially said there were no plans to screen people arriving from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. |
| Those arriving from areas hit by Ebola face "enhanced screening" at Heathrow, Gatwick and Eurostar terminals. | Those arriving from areas hit by Ebola face "enhanced screening" at Heathrow, Gatwick and Eurostar terminals. |
| There are no direct flights to the UK from the affected areas but people can fly via Paris or Brussels. | |
| Downing Street said passengers would be asked questions and potentially given a medical assessment during the screening process. | |
| Mr Cameron said: "Quite rightly, we're taking all the steps we can to keep our own people safe here in the UK. | Mr Cameron said: "Quite rightly, we're taking all the steps we can to keep our own people safe here in the UK. |
| "What we do is we listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice and that's why we're introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports." | "What we do is we listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice and that's why we're introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports." |
| Mr Cameron also said: "What we're focusing on as a country is taking action right across the board to deal with this problem at source. | Mr Cameron also said: "What we're focusing on as a country is taking action right across the board to deal with this problem at source. |
| "We're making a bigger contribution than almost any other country, in West Africa, to help deal with the crisis at its source." | "We're making a bigger contribution than almost any other country, in West Africa, to help deal with the crisis at its source." |
| Further details of how passengers will be checked are expected to be announced later. | Further details of how passengers will be checked are expected to be announced later. |
| Gatwick said on Friday morning it knew nothing about the new measures. | |
| An airport spokesman said: "We've not had anything at all. We're still waiting for Public Health England (to let us know)." | An airport spokesman said: "We've not had anything at all. We're still waiting for Public Health England (to let us know)." |
| A Heathrow spokesman said it was working with the health body to implement the measures and reassured passengers the risk of a traveller contracting Ebola had been assessed as low. | A Heathrow spokesman said it was working with the health body to implement the measures and reassured passengers the risk of a traveller contracting Ebola had been assessed as low. |
| Eurostar said it was "liaising with relevant authorities to work out how it will be implemented". | Eurostar said it was "liaising with relevant authorities to work out how it will be implemented". |
| 'No difference' | |
| BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott said it would take "a few days" to get screening in place in the UK. | |
| He said: "My understanding is that it's easy to trace the starting point of someone's journey, even if they transferred flights along the way, because effectively they are still travelling on a single ticket which is logged on a computer. | |
| "So it should still be simple to identify most people who've come from those high risk countries, unless they really have gone around the houses to get here. | |
| "If one of those people shows any signs of Ebola, they might be asked to wait for a few hours at the airport while tests are carried out." | |
| Our correspondent said before the outbreak, just under 200 people a day flew directly to the UK from the affected areas and added that "most travellers won't notice any difference". | |
| 'Professional advice' | |
| Home Office minister Norman Baker said the government changed its mind about introducing screening as a result of new advice from the chief medical officer. | |
| Mr Baker said: "I think it's a good reflection on the government that they listened to professional advice from the chief medical officer and are prepared to change their minds." | |
| Meanwhile, Whitehall sources have said it is "very unlikely" that a British man who died in Macedonia on Thursday could have contracted the disease. | |
| It had been claimed that the man - thought to be 57 - may have had Ebola. | |
| The outbreak has already killed more than 3,000 people and infected more than 7,200 - mostly in West Africa. | |
| People leaving areas affected by the outbreak have been subject to checks for some weeks, although people do not become infectious until they display symptoms. | |
| Earlier this week a Spanish nurse became the first person to contract the deadly virus outside of West Africa. | |
| A health expert has said that screening is a "mistake" and that he can not "see the point". | |
| David Mabey, professor of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There will be a lot of delay and disruption as they do not know who to screen." | |
| The priority should be on testing those who are at risk and become sick, said Prof Mabey. | |
| Money spent on the screening would be "better spent on setting up places where people can go and be tested and telling people where that is", he added. | |
| Chris Dye, director of strategy at the World Health Organization, said screening was a "precautionary measure". | |
| "We know the risk of a case of Ebola entering the UK is small and the risk of a case entering the UK while displaying symptoms is even smaller," he told BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast. | |
| "We are talking about a very small risk indeed." |