Three missing Britons are feared dead as the death toll from the hostage crisis at the Il Amenas gas plant in Algeria has risen to at least 48. Three Britons have already been confirmed dead, whilst another 25 badly disfigured bodies have been found at the complex.

The dead discovered are all captives from the four day siege by al-Qaeda militants that ended in a bloodbath on Saturday after the Algerian army stormed the plant. Algerian authorities say all 32 of the radical militants have been killed, whilst 20 hostages, three British, remain unaccounted for. Foreign Secretary William Hague has said officials are "working hard" to locate the missing people.

The crisis began on Wednesday when militants attacked two buses carrying workers to the site in remote south-eastern Algeria. Veteran Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed to have orchestrated the attack, by his new splinter al-Qaeda group called 'signatories in blood'.

Prime Minister David Cameron is due to update MPs on the aftermath of the hostage crisis later today, having warned that there could be a decades-long battle against Islamist terrorism in north Africa.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner