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may have been set with a 'two-hour timer'

British experts gave security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport the all-clear just weeks before the Russian holiday jet disaster, a senior Egyptian official has claimed.

Khaled Fouda, the governor of South Sinai province, said UK officials had made regular visits to the airport all year and did not raise concerns about safety.

His claims echo those of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who said British inspectors had assessed the terminal and found security to be 'good enough' ten months ago.

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'No problems': British experts gave security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport (above) the all-clear just weeks before the Russian holiday jet disaster, a senior Egyptian official has claimed

Security in the resort has since been placed under intense scrutiny after British spies intercepted intelligence that suggested a bomb was smuggled onto the Metrojet plane which crashed killing all 224 people on board

Mr Fouda told The Daily Telegraph: 'Every two months, a British team comes to look at our equipment and our procedures and they say there are no problems.

'I don’t know why it is upside down now.'

It is understood these previous visits had been scheduled, giving the Egyptian authorities the opportunity to make sure standards were being met.

Security has since been placed under intense scrutiny after British spies intercepted intelligence that suggested a bomb was smuggled onto the Metrojet plane which crashed killing 224 people.

Scores of tourists have accused Egyptian security officials of playing the computer game Candy Crush, smoking cigarettes and even falling asleep while on duty.

It has also been claimed that CCTV monitors were only being watched about half the time.

President Sisi vowed that the 'lights would be kept on' in Sharm el-Sheikh despite the suspected terror strike

President Sisi met tourists and Egyptians inside the airport building as Britons and Russians left the resort

The British government responded by suspending all flights to the Red Sea resort indefinitely and sent in teams of officials to carry out emergency security checks to allow a series of rescue planes to bring thousands of stranded Britons back home.

Mr Fouda's comments also come as it emerged the alleged bomb may have been set with a two-hour timer.

The St Petersburg-bound jet broke up mid-air just 23 minutes after take-off on October 31.

A source told Fox News the investigation was now centring on a '90-minute' window in which a device could have been planted.

Investigators are also analysing the theory the bomb was deliberately placed near the fuel line to burn off any explosive residue.

Both lines of enquiry have deepened suspicions that suspected terrorists – believed to be the Islamic State's splinter group in Sinai – may have had help from an airport insider.

Locals marched through the streets in an effort to show tourists that Sharm el-Sheikh was still a safe location

Meanwhile, Mr Sisi vowed to rescue his nation's beleaguered tourism industry as thousands tourists abandoned the popular Red Sea resort.

British and Russian tourists account for two-thirds of visitors to Sharm el-Sheikh and their boycott is set to cost local businesses an estimated £185 million a month.

President al-Sisi said: 'The lights will not be going out in Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada while we are here. We will support them in facing (the situation) we are in.'

However, businesses have already begun the process of laying off staff in response to collapse in visitor numbers including dozens of sacked workers who protested outside the Rosetta Hotel.

Egypt's tourism revenue is a vital source of foreign currency in a country which has seen its foreign cash reserves dwindle sharply during years of political instability following the 2011 uprising which overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

Last year, nearly 10 million tourists visited, far less than the 14.7 million in 2010.

Officials had hoped for modest growth this year but the Sinai plane crash, coming at the start of the peak Red Sea winter holiday season, is likely to reverse that.

The ISIS-linked Sinai Province claims it brought down the plane.