Reports suggest hundreds of hostages have been freed from Al Qaeda terrorists at a gas facility in Algeria. APS news agency said those freed at the In Amenas installation included more than half of 132 foreign workers. The Prime Minister's described his "disgust" at a "brutal and savage attack" by extremists.
He said:
"Last night the number of British citizens at risk was less than 30.
"Thankfully, we now know that number has been quite significantly reduced and I'm sure the House will understand why during an ongoing operation I cannot say more on this at this stage."
Norman Kember is a Christian peace activist who was took hostage is Iraq in 2005 and was later freed. He told Premier's Des Busteed on the News Hour that his thoughts are with the relatives of those being held hostage.
Foreign Secretary William Hague says it's a fluid and evolving situation.
He said:
"Our priority remains at the moment to identify exactly what has happened to each British national caught up in this incident and indeed to help other countries determine what has happened to their nationals.
"We've sent additional staff to Algeria [and] we're in close touch with Algerian authories and BP."
BP co-runs the plant. Its former head of strategy, Nick Butler, says Algeria's been relatively safe recently - meaning security wasn't as high as it could have been.
He said:
"The level of security was not that of an armed camp. It was normal security for a sensitive facility and obviously not enough to counteract a very determined group, which is what this looks like."
Last night Algerian forces stormed the complex to free hostages, but Western governments were kept in the dark about the operation. The Prime Minister blasted the Algerian government for staging the secret rescue mission despite offers of SAS help and his demands to be told of any operation that could put British lives at risk.