David Cameron hails 'opportunity' on Egypt visit

Frankly I think the timing of Cameron's visit is insensitive as David Cameron has met Egypt's new leaders, as the first world leader to visit the country since President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office.

The UK prime minister held talks with the head of the armed forces supreme council Mohamed Tantawi and caretaker Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

He said Egypt had a "great opportunity" to push for democracy.

Mr Cameron also described the violent suppression of protests in neighbouring Libya as "appalling".

Egypt's long-standing leader Mr Mubarak stood down 10 days ago amid widespread protests against his regime by pro-democracy activists.

Speaking on the flight to Cairo, Mr Cameron said: "This is a great opportunity for us to go and talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule, and see what friendly countries like Britain and others in Europe can do to help."

Part of the prime minister's agenda will be a call for the lifting of emergency laws, which have been in place for more than 30 years.

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It is frankly astonishing for David Cameron to be here. Egypt is still in flux. It is only 10 days since the country's president Hosni Mubarak stood down.

The interim government is still very much only that. Tahrir Square, where Mr Cameron did an unlikely walkabout, may have returned to its chaotic, noisy self, but the tanks are still there.

The risks for the prime minister are obvious. He could be accused of lecturing the new regime - the old colonial West come to tell the Egyptians how to do their democracy - or he could be accused of legitimising a temporary military government simply by being here - an administration that may soon find the status quo rather comfortable.

But Mr Cameron rejects these views. For him, this is a moment of opportunity for Britain to encourage Egypt's government to press ahead with its move from military to civilian rule.

• Read James Landale's analysis in full

Mr Cameron walked through Tahrir Square, the centre of the anti-Mubarak demonstrations, and met figures from the protest movement, although not representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood - the banned Islamic group which is thought to have widespread public support.

The prime minister had planned to make a trade-centred tour of the Middle East but altered his schedule to visit Egypt.

He told the BBC that Egypt's current military rulers had done some good things in terms of setting out the need for constitutional change, a referendum and parliamentary elections.

But he said they need to "do more, more quickly in terms of ending the state of emergency, allowing political parties to register and freeing political prisoners".

Mr Cameron said he had met "very brave" figures from the protest movement who "don't yet have confidence that this transition is real".

"As a friend of Egypt we want this transition to happen we want to help encourage the government to take those steps," he said.

BBC deputy political editor James Landale, who is travelling with Mr Cameron, said it was extraordinary for a British prime minister to engage in full-on diplomacy in a country that was still "in flux".

He said the prime minister believed that there was a window of opportunity for western leaders to give what his advisers are calling "candid" advice, but there was a danger he could be seen as lecturing or as legitimising a temporary regime.

William Hague: "Gaddafi may have left country"

But Mr Cameron said it was "right to come here to say that we support the aspirations of people in Egypt for a more genuine, open democracy".

"It's not a question of either lecturing or legitimising, it's saying we want Egypt to have a strong and successful future," he said.

The Egypt visit comes while anti-government protests are raging in Libya and Bahrain.

Asked about the violent treatment of demonstrators against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya in recent days, Mr Cameron said: "We can see what is happening in Libya which is completely appalling and unacceptable as the regime is using the most vicious forms of repression against people who want to see that country, which is one of the most closed and one of the most autocratic, make progress."

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has been in Brussels for talks on the violence in Libya.

Oil firm BP has said it is preparing to evacuate some of its staff and their families from the country over the next day or so. The company has 40 foreign employees in Libya.

Potters Bar crash: Network Rail to plead guilty

Network Rail has admitted health and safety failings over the 2002 Potters Bar crash, in which seven people died.

The company has said it will plead guilty to charges which were brought over the condition of tracks near the station in Hertfordshire.

Six passengers and a pedestrian died when a train from London to King's Lynn derailed on 10 May 2002.

An inquest last year concluded that a points failure was to blame. The company will be sentenced next month.

Peter Palfrey, chair of the bench at Watford Magistrates' Court, said: "In this case we have decided that the charge is so serious we cannot give punishment at this court."

'Almost unrecognisable'

Speaking outside the court, a Network Rail spokesman said the firm was pleading guilty because it had assumed all of Railtrack's responsibilities and liabilities when it took over the company in October 2002.

But he insisted that travelling by train was now safer than ever: "The railway today is almost unrecognisable since the days of Railtrack and the Potters Bar tragedy.

"All of the recommendations made by both the industry's own formal inquiry and the health and safety investigation have been carried out."

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The families had to go though an awful ordeal, and what still worries them is whether the safety concerns have been properly addressed.”

End Quote Louise Christian Solicitor

Six passengers - Austen Kark, Emma Knights, Alexander Ogunwusi, Jonael Schickler, Chia Hsin Lin and Chia Chin Wu - were killed in the crash.

The seventh victim, Agnes Quinlivan, was walking nearby and died after she was hit by debris.

More than 70 people were injured.

'An awful ordeal'

The Office of Rail Regulation launched proceedings over alleged breaches of health and safety law after the inquest into the crash last year.

Louise Christian, a solicitor representing some of the victim's families, said there was anger that the process had taken so long.

She expressed concern whether today's events would make a real difference. "The families had to go though an awful ordeal, and what still worries them is whether the safety concerns have been properly addressed for the future," she said.

"This is now a prosecution that can only result in a fine. There's a query whether that will bring about any real accountability, given that Network Rail is a not for profit company."

The Office of Rail Regulation said it was now considering whether it was in the public interest to continue prosecutions against Jarvis, the maintenance firm responsible for the tracks at Potters Bar.

Jarvis was due in court today facing a health and safety charge, but it was not represented when Network Rail entered its intended plea.

There will be another hearing on March 21.