Intelligence was not shared in plane crash- Egypt

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has accused unnamed countries of failing to share intelligence relating to the crash of the Russian Metrojet plane a week ago.

The US and the UK have both said intelligence points to the strong possibility it was caused by a bomb.

The UK halted flights to Sharm el-Sheikh and is repatriating tourists.

The Airbus 321 came down in the Sinai Peninsula killing all 224 on board shortly after leaving the resort.

“We are the party that is the most closely connected to the issue,” Mr Shoukry said.

“We expected that the information provided on a technical level would be provided to us on a technical level, instead of it being released to the media in this public manner.”

“Egypt is co-operating to reassure these countries that the [security] measures adopted in Egyptian airports conform to international standards,” he added.

Separately the Egyptian head of the international team investigating the crash, Ayman al-Muqaddam, confirmed reports that a noise had been heard in the last second of recording on the cockpit voice recorder, but said the sound still had to be analysed.

He said his committee had not been provided with evidence of any particular scenario, adding that “all scenarios are on the table”.

They would examine any evidence provided to them, he added.

French aviation officials familiar with the investigation on Friday told the BBC the crash was not caused by a technical failure. Other French officials said the flight data recorder suggested the cause was a “violent, sudden” explosion.

French investigators are involved because France is one of several countries with shareholdings in Airbus, the plane’s manufacturer.

Shoukry also criticised a failure to co-operate in fighting terrorism, accusing some countries of “concentrating on their self-interests” and underestimating the terrorism challenges facing Egypt.

However, the UK ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, said he had personally been in close contact with the Egyptian government round the clock.

“We’ve made all the information available and we explained to them the basis for our decision-making,” he told the BBC.