William Hague has outlined British efforts to help Norway after Friday’s twin terrorist attacks.
As the death toll continues to climb, the Foreign Secretary told the BBC: “This is the worst event in Norway since the end of the Second World War”.
“I was in touch with the Norwegian Foreign Minister immediately after these events on Friday, also the PM telephoned the Norwegian Prime Minister, the Home Secretary has been in touch with her counterpart, our ambassador in Oslo has been in close touch with the Norwegian authorities, and we have a British police officer based in our embassy to coordinate any assistance.
“In all of those conversations we have expressed the deep condolences of the British people to the people and the government of Norway and we’ve offered any practical assistance that can be useful to them. Practical assistance in terms of cooperation and in terms also of our experience in this country of coming to terms with tragedies of this kind and we will continue to be in close touch with them over the coming hours and days as more information develops on this"
However the Foreign Secretary said the biggest terrorist threat to the UK still came from Al Qaeda.
The gunman, Anders Behring Breivik, has admitted carrying out the attacks and claims to have worked alone.
Hague added that the National Security Council would meet tomorrow to ensure enough attention was being given to different forms of terrorism.
Home Secretary Theresa May said on Saturday that British police were willing to help Norwegians in the investigation: "I made clear to Minister Storberget that we will help in any way we can. In particular I offered police assistance, which we stand ready to provide, should Norway request it."
Norwegians will hold a mass memorial service to honour the dead on Sunday morning.