Sri Lanka attacks latest: Several Britons among more than 200 killed in blasts, says Foreign Secretary

Several British citizens were among the more than 200 people killed in blasts at a number of sites in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, the foreign secretary has confirmed.

Jeremy Hunt said five was the latest precise figure he was aware of but "several British nationals" had been among the fatalities.

Three Britons and two holding joint US and British nationalities were killed, Sri Lankan authorities said.

There have also been reports that a British mother and son were among those feared dead after the Shangri La hotel blast.

The 42-year-old and 11-year-old were eating in the establishment's second storey restaurant, according to the Telegraph.

The total death toll stood at 207 as of Sunday evening and some 450 people were also injured.

Mr Hunt said the toll of five Britons was "the latest figure that I have heard" and added: "But obviously our High Commissioner is working on this with his team in the embassy in Colombo, working around the clock, and we are trying to gather as much information as we can about this."

He described the terrorist attacks as "absolutely devastating and despicable" adding: "For this to happen on Easter Day is something that will shake people around the world, of all faiths and none, to the core".

At present there was "no hard knowledge" about the perpetrators of the atrocity, he said.

James Dauris, the UK's High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, visited injured Britons in hospital in the capital Colombo and condemned the "deplorable violence".

Among those killed were a well-known chef and her daughter.

Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter Nisanga had been staying at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, one of four luxury hotels targeted in a morning of bloodshed.

Nisanga Mayadunne, believed to be aged in her 30s, had studied at the University of London, according to her social media page.

The page has been flooded with tributes to the mother and daughter.

Sir Lanka's defence minister Ruwan Wijewardena described the bombings as a terrorist attack by religious extremists and said 13 suspects had been arrested.

However, though there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Mr Wijewardena said most of the blasts were believed to have been suicide attacks.

Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said the bodies of at least 27 foreigners were recovered.

The dead included people from Britain, the US, India, Portugal and Turkey.

The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, called on Sri Lanka's government to "mercilessly" punish those responsible.

The first six blasts took place nearly simultaneously in the morning at St Anthony's Shrine, a Catholic church in Colombo, and three hotels in the city.

The two other explosions occurred after a lull of a few hours at St Sebastian Catholic church in Negombo, a majority Catholic town north of Colombo, and at the Protestant Zion church in the eastern town of Batticaloa.

Three police officers were killed while conducting a search at a suspected safe house in Dematagoda, on the outskirts of Colombo.

The Sri Lankan government has imposed a nationwide curfew from 6pn to 6am and blocked Facebook and other social media.

It said it needed to curtail the spread of false information and ease tension in the country of about 21 million people.