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Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash: Final two British victims are named as Putin is warned that 'world's eyes are on Russia to deliver'

John Allen and Andrew Hoare have been identified by Malaysia Airlines

Heather Saul
Sunday 20 July 2014 00:40 BST
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A woman crosses herself as people lay flowers and light candles in front of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev, to commemorate passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur which crashed in eastern Ukr
A woman crosses herself as people lay flowers and light candles in front of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev, to commemorate passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur which crashed in eastern Ukr

The last two British passengers who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 have been named as John Allen and Andrew Hoare.

Malaysia Airlines has identified the nationalities of 298 people who were on board the doomed flight which includes 10 people from the UK, one of whom has dual UK and South African citizenship.

There are also 193 victims from the Netherlands, 43 from Malaysia including 15 crew and two infants and another 27 from Australia.

Mr Allen was described as a "much-loved colleague" by his friends at international law firm NautaDutilh, who said they were "shocked" by his death alongside his wife and their sons.

A tribute by the firm reads: "Our thoughts are with John's family and his friends in and outside the office. He was a person with many talents, and in addition to his professional contribution to our firm he generously shared his musical and athletic abilities with us as well.

Colleagues said they were 'shocked' by John Allen's death (Nauta Dutilh)

"All of us who had the privilege of working with John during his 18 years at NautaDutilh came to know him as a kind, down-to-earth and humorous man and many of us have also lost a friend. He will be dearly missed."

The remaining eight British victims of the tragedy have been names as John Alder, 63, and Liam Sweeney, 28, Richard Mayne, 20, Glenn Thomas, 49, Ben Pocock, 20, Cameron Dalziel, Robert Ayley and Stephen Anderson.

Shortly before the names were released, Philip Hammond warned Vladimir Putin that the "world's eyes are on Russia to make sure she delivers" on her obligations to the victims killed.

The Foreign Secretary summoned Russian's ambassador to discuss its response to the disaster today.

Rebels have denied shooting down the plane or destroying evidence at the crash site as the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned he would not tolerate any interference in the work of investigators.

Separatist leader Alexander Borodai said accusations by the Ukrainian government that 38 bodies had been transferred to a morgue in rebel-held Donetsk or that they had in any way interfered with the work of observers were untrue at a news conference today.

A local resident stands among the wreckage at the site of the crash (Getty Images)

The Ukrainian government has also claimed in a statement that rebels are also "seeking large transports to carry away plane fragments to Russia".

International monitors at the crash site Saturday said their movements were still being limited by heavily armed rebels as the bodies of victims lay in bags at the side of the road.

"Some of the body bags are open and the damage to the corpses is very, very bad. It is very difficult to look at," OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw said from the site.

Men carry a stretcher with a bodybag at the crash site (EPA)

Concerns were raised earlier when the team said they were refused full access to the site, with one “visibly intoxicated guard” firing a warning shot into the air during their visit.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr Putin have agreed in a phone call on Saturday that an independent, international commission led by the International Civil Aviation Organisation should be granted swift access to the crash site, according to government spokesman Georg Streiter.

The commission should examine the circumstances of the crash and recover the victims, he said, adding that Mrs Merkel urged Mr Putin to use his influence over the separatists to make that happen.

Additional reporting by agencies

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