UK had concerns about Sharm el-Sheikh airport security almost a year ago
No 10 spokeswoman says Egyptians responded to some of the concerns raised by team of experts sent to both airport and beach resort at end of last year
Britain had concerns about security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport for at least 10 months before UK intelligence pointed to a terrorist bomb as the likely cause of the Russian plane crash over Sinai, the government has confirmed.
A spokeswoman for the prime minister, David Cameron, said a team of security experts was sent to both the Egyptian airport and beach resort at the end of last year.
She said the Egyptians had responded to some of the concerns raised by the UK and there had been “good cooperation”.
But the aviation experts who were in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday had not been happy with the security at the airport.
According to an airport employee, the UK had complained about lax security a year ago and had asked for a tightening of procedures.
Asked what he thought the problem was, he told the Guardian: “The system was the problem. The British complained then that they weren’t checking people enough. We should have done more. The security could have been improved by putting another scanner outside and updating the others.”
The prime minister’s spokeswoman did not deny there had been concerns about screening of luggage but refused to elaborate on what exactly the UK had requested in terms of improvements.
After talks in Downing Street with Cameron, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, said the UK had been happy with the security changes at the airport.
He also said Egypt understood Cameron’s decision to halt all flights between Sharm and the UK, striking a different note to that of his foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, who said the move was premature and unwarranted.
“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,” Sisi said.
“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 cooperate in this particular regard, not necessarily on one airport but on all airports.”
Appearing alongside Sisi, Cameron said he had found “complete understanding” from the Egyptians.
The prime minister said: “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. 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.”
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. The only flights that appeared to be running normally were to Middle Eastern and Russian destinations and one route to Italy.
Several airlines, including Monarch and easyJet, have said they are hoping to begin rescue flights from the resort to the UK on Friday, but No 10 said it could not put a timetable on when air travel to Sharm el-Sheikh would be allowed to resume.
Cameron made a 10-minute phone call to Russia’s president on Thursday to explain why Britain had acted unilaterally to halt the flights.
Asked whether Vladimir Putin expressed any criticism about British actions, Downing Street said: “The president underlined that all countries should wait for the investigations to be completed. The PM was very clear that he would be driven by what would be right for the safety of British citizens and we were right to take the actions that we did.”
Britain’s national security adviser has been in touch with his Russian counterpart but Russia’s news agencies reported a spokeswoman in the ministry of foreign affairs saying the UK had not handed over any new intelligence information.
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