2,000 more Britons flown home from Sharm el-Sheikh

Almost 2,000 British tourists have been brought back to the UK from Sharm el-Sheikh today aboard eight flights, government officials said.

The repatriations mean 5,300 holidaymakers have returned home since flights from the Red Sea resort recommenced on Friday amid heightened security measures following last week's Russian plane crash.

As investigators continue to examine the wreckage it was reported they are now 90% sure a noise picked up by the cockpit voice recorder in the final seconds of the flight was the sound of the explosion caused by a bomb.

The Airbus 321 was still gaining altitude as it disintegrated 23 minutes after take-off, killing all 224 people on board the Metrojet flight.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond today warned airport security around the world will have to be overhauled if it is confirmed the crash in the Sinai was caused by an Islamic State bomb.

The investigation committee has yet to formally declare its findings, but Mr Hammond reaffirmed that the view of the British authorities is that it was "more likely than not" that the crash was the result of a terrorist bomb planted on the aircraft before it took off from Sharm el-Sheikh eight days ago.

And he said there would have to be a major re-think of airport security in countries where IS - also referred to as Isil or Isis - is active if it turned out that they were behind the attack.