Blair announces rise in British casualties in tsunami disaster

The Prime Minister has announced an increase in the number of British deaths in the Asian tsunami disaster.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Blair confirmed that 51 British citizens were now confirmed dead in the disaster, while the number of Category 1 missing – those that are thought highly likely to have died – is now 453, including the 51 already confirmed dead. The Prime Minister confirmed that 371 of those missing are in Thailand, while another 50 are in Sri Lanka. He said that the numbers of Category 1 missing had ceased to rise so quickly, and added: "Not all of them will end up as being actually dead, although the majority of them may."

The figure for the Category 2 missing – those who are still unaccounted for, but not regarded as highly likely to have died – now stands at 871, a massive drop from last week's total of 2000. However, Mr Blair said that the total is unlikely to ever reach zero.

The Prime Minister also announced plans to hold a memorial service later in the year for the victims of the tsunami disaster. During his speech, he confirmed that the Queen would attend and that more details would be released in due course.

In his speech, Mr Blair also paid tribute to the generosity of the British people, who have now contributed £100 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee, calling it "the best illustration of the British character" and added that it showed "a warmth of spirit and a depth of compassion that has been uplifting even as we contemplate the tragedy that gave rise to it".

The Prime Minister also gave details regarding the government's contribution to the aid fund. He confirmed that the government would increase its pledge to the humanitarian response from £50 million to £75 million and also said that other efforts such as gift aid relief and the G8's proposed moratorium on debt repayments for affected countries, would help push the total committed by the British government to around £200 million.

Mr Blair also offered his condolences to all those who had been affected by the tsunami disaster. He said: "Scarcely any of us here will not know someone whose life has been touched by this event. None of us will have not been moved to tears as, each night, we saw with mounting horror, the human tragedy that followed the natural disaster."

(KmcA)