A Wiltshire laboratory has played a key role in a national simulation of a suspected Ebola outbreak.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was "doubly reassured" that the Government and emergency services were ready if the disease reached the UK after an
exercise to test how the authorities would respond.

The eight-hour mock-up saw actors simulate symptoms of the deadly virus
while Government ministers joined dozens of medical professionals from
hospitals, the ambulance service and Public Health England as they
played through scenarios across the country.

In one case a person who collapsed in Gateshead shopping centre was
placed in isolation at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle after
being assessed.

Samples were sent for urgent testing at the Porton Down government
science laboratories for testing and, after returning an Ebola
diagnosis, the patient was transferred to the Royal Free in London.

In a separate case, a patient turned up to the Hillingdon walk-in centre
in London with flu-like symptoms after having recently returned from
West Africa.

Blood tests were again sent to Porton Down, near Salisbury, and the patient
was taken to the Royal Free after being diagnosed with the disease.
Public Health England also began tracing the contacts of the people
involved.

Mr Hunt chaired a simulated meeting of the emergency Cobra committee as
part of the exercise.

He said: "This is an extremely useful exercise and I feel doubly
reassured that we have robust plans in place in the event that we get an
Ebola case in the UK.

"We will evaluate what went well and what we need to improve.

"This exercise is just one small part of our ongoing contingency plans
for Ebola. It builds on activity we routinely practise for a wide
variety of illnesses and other emergencies."

Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies said: "This vitally important
exercise gave a very realistic test of how prepared the system is to
deal with a case of Ebola. Today has included a variety of scenarios
involving personnel from hospitals, ambulance services and local
authorities around the country."

Noreen Rice, Hillingdon Hospital emergency care services manager, said:
"We have learned things from this experience today. The more you
practise the better you get and it was really useful to help us test out
just how prepared we are for dealing with an incident like this.

"I am confident that we can manage these situations."

The exercise was ordered by David Cameron as part of the UK's
contingency plan against Ebola, which has killed more than 4,000 people
in West Africa.

The Prime Minister has been forced to defend the decision to introduce
enhanced screening for the virus at major airports and terminals, saying
it had been taken on "medical advice".

Questions have been raised about the checks, which are to take place at
Heathrow, Gatwick and Eurostar rail terminals, with a spokesman for
Gatwick saying that the airport had not been given any instructions
about how the screening should be carried out.

In Spain, three more people are under observation in a Madrid hospital,
taking the number currently being monitored for Ebola symptoms to 16.

Teresa Romero, 44, the first person known to have contracted the disease
outside West Africa in the current outbreak, remains in a stable
condition.

Meanwhile, more than 750 military personnel and the medical ship RFA
Argus are being sent to West Africa to help in the efforts to contain
the Ebola outbreak.

RFA Argus, which has a fully equipped hospital including critical care
and high-dependency units, arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall, today for
loading before it sails to Sierra Leone next week.

It will travel with three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to
provide transport and support to medical teams and aid workers.