Boris Johnson has said that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran after Western intelligence agencies concluded that the downing of the jet was most likely an accident.

US satellites reportedly picked up two surface-to-air missiles being launched shortly before the accident and US officials suspect there are missile fragments near the crash site where all 176 passenger died.

Mr Johnson said: “There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile. This may well have been unintentional."

His comments came shortly after Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, which had 63 nationals on board, said "multiple intelligence sources" pointed to a missile strike that appeared to be accidental.

British and Canadian officials said they believed the US assessment was credible, with one UK source telling The Daily Telegraph “specific details” had been shared with Britain backing up the claim.

However, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation pushed back, calling the allegation “illogical” and asking why the plane had turned back towards the airport if it had been hit by a missile.