Nine Britons were said to have been aboard

2116 BST: The Ukrainian state security chief has accused two Russian military intelligence officers of involvement in the shooting down of the plane. “They must be punished for this crime,” he said. He said that his allegation was based on phone intercepts.

2034 BST: The pro-Russian separatists could agree to a two or three-day ceasefire in eastern Ukraine to allow recovery work at the site of a the downed airliner, according to Alexander Boraday, the self-styled prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Rebels were holding talks with the Ukrainian authorities, he said.

1945 BST: Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to Malaysia’s prime minister. “The president of Russia asked the prime minister of Malaysia to convey his deepest sympathy and support to the victims’