Race to find hundreds of BA passengers who came into contact with UK nurse who brought Ebola back to Britain - but why did TWO screenings fail to spot her condition?

A UK nurse who brought Ebola back to the UK is being moved from Glasgow to London this morning as the authorities hunt for hundreds who flew alongside her over Christmas.

The woman, who had been treating patients stricken by the deadly disease in Sierra Leone, fell ill only hours after returning home.

But questions are being asked about the Government's Ebola screening programme because the woman was vetted twice – in Sierra Leone and at Heathrow – without any symptoms being detected. 

It was only when she told doctors she feared she had Ebola and was taken to a Glasgow hospital by special ambulance, immediately isolated and diagnosed with the virus.

This morning she is being transferred to the Royal Free Hospital in London and was loaded onto a military aircraft in a cocoon by medical staff in protective suits. 

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Transfer: A nurse who became the first victim of the ebola outbreak to be diagnosed in the UK is loaded onto a plane at Glasgow airport to be taken for specialist treatment in London

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Care: The unnamed woman was initially taken to Glasgow's Gartnavel Hospital but will now go to the Royal Free Hospital in London

It is the same isolation unit that nursed William Pooley back to health after he contracted Ebola in August. 

Last night the authorities moved to reassure the public the risk of infection was negligible and that the UK was prepared for the disease. 

Professor Jonathan Ball, an expert in molecular virology at Nottingham University, said the case showed airport checks are unable to spot Ebola.

He said this was because symptoms such as a high temperature can take up to three weeks to develop. ‘When [screening] was introduced it was more a measure of reassurance rather than something that actually worked,’ he said. ‘Because the incubation period for Ebola is up to 21 days, it’s impossible to detect as you don’t show symptoms.’

In October, ministers were accused of a chaotic response to the Ebola crisis when it emerged screening measures amounted to little more than a questionnaire. 

The tests involve assessing passengers’ recent travel history and who they have been in contact with, as well as a possible medical assessment. 

Passengers who have come from Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea are put in a separate queue at customs.

In a holding area, they are asked how they are feeling, whether they have been in contact with Ebola victims and if they have touched bush meat. If the medical staff are concerned, they start a full assessment. 

But they stop short of screening passengers with thermal guns to pick out those with an elevated temperature, a procedure adopted in the US. 

It is understood the nurse had close contact with one other person following her journey. Officials would not confirm whether this was her partner or a relative. Anyone thought to be at risk is expected to be monitored by the authorities.  

Another British nurse, William Pooley, was flown home from Sierra Leone in August after contracting ebola at a treatment clinic. He recovered and has returned to West Africa to continue his mission.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee, while Downing Street said David Cameron had spoken to Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and made clear the Government would help in any way possible.

'The Prime Minister and the first minister discussed the UK's robust and practised response procedures in place and how these were being strictly followed,' a spokesman said. 

'They agreed that both governments would remain in close touch and ensure everything possible was done to support the patient and, although the risk to the general population remained low, all measures would be taken to protect public health.'

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has separately chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee to ensure all necessary steps are being taken.

At a press conference this evening, she said: 'Given the early stage of the diagnosis, the patient was displaying no symptoms that could lead to onward transmission before she reported as being unwell.

'Passengers on both the flight from Casablanca to Heathrow and Heathrow to Glasgow are being traced and contacted. They will be given the appropriate advice and reassurance.'