With friends like these, who needs enemies?

A terrible tragedy happened. Our hearts are with the victims’ families. Never mind the so-called terrorist chatter, as yet no one knows for sure what caused Metrojet Flight 9268 to crash in the Sinai desert but, because of Britain’s haste to reach conclusions even before the results of the investigation are known, the world has been indoctrinated with possibilities, probabilities and unproven theories.

OK, the UK government has the right to be concerned for its holidaymakers and to cancel flights to Sharm El-Sheikh until the truth comes out, but David Cameron’s behavior has added insult to injury.

Firstly, he didn’t share the “intelligence”—advance chatter—Britain alleges it had allowing Egyptian authorities to take preventative measures, which is a shocking omission from a country purporting to be Egypt’s friend, with “purporting” the operative word.

Secondly, he dropped the flight cancellation bombshell on President El-Sisi’s head upon his arrival to London on a state visit without prior notice, making a mockery of the British ambassador to Cairo’s promise that the during the visit, Egyptians would receive good news.

Cameron looking nervous and on the defensive, dare I say guilty, apologized for destroying Egypt’s tourism industry in the knowledge that other countries would have no choice but to follow his lead, just in case. The respectful method of handling this would have been to warn the Egyptian leader, permit him to announce flight suspensions and then to work with him to ensure Sharm El-Sheikh airport was secure until flights can resume. Unfortunately, respect was absent from the Egyptian leader’s visit.

And by all accounts, he was pressed to reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood whose man, Muhammad Mursi, was caught on tape inviting the brother of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahiri to set-up terrorist training camps in the Sinai and promising to release “the Brothers” from prisons. Put simply, there were no terrorists in Sinai before 2012.

If—and it’s a big if—Russia was the target of Sinai militants linked to Daesh, then Egypt is the victim here. CNN has been rolling out “experts” who contend that every airport is vulnerable, including US airports due to sophisticated explosive material that’s undetectable. Yet, the Western media have been damning the security at Sharm El-Sheikh where no such incident has happened before in its history—and telling downright lies that a British passenger plane pilot managed to evade a missile launched by the Egyptian military; a lie that has since been proven.

Open any newspaper and you’ll read about “rescue” flights, as if the resort that Britain concedes is safe, is a war zone. Yes, a war zone that many British and Russian holidaymakers soaking up sun and sea have no intention of leaving until their holidays are over, while many resolve to return as soon as they can.

Tourists on social media post that they feel safer in Sharm El-Sheikh than in their own countries. They say they can walk around at any time of the day or night in complete safety.

Egypt is under attack; it’s tourism sector accounts for 11 percent of GDP and boosts its foreign currency reserves. Up-to three million Egyptians work in tourism. But instead of solidarity, it’s getting knives in the back from governments, from the Western media and from snitches working on the six-country investigatory team, leaking sensational information.

I can only conclude that there is a political element in the behavior of certain Western countries that have had a chilly relationship with Egypt and an even frostier one with Russia.

Imagine, three Malaysian airliners were downed in a single year but neither the UK nor any other country advised their nationals to avoid flying Malaysian.

Airlines didn’t blacklist US airports following the 9/11 attacks. People weren’t advised not to travel to London after the 7/7 attacks on the capital’s transport system. Paris wasn’t placed off-limits in response to the Charlie Hebdo shootings, among others.

Egyptians won’t forget these insults. They are rallying around their president and using humor to get through this crisis whose effects are yet to be felt.

The biggest winner is Daesh whether it committed the crime or not. The Sunday Express reports that British extremists linked to jet bomb are heard cheering the disaster, according to “intelligence experts.”

It’s time that the UK cleaned up its own mess when it has become an extremist hub in Europe to the extent it’s now exporting terrorists to Sinai and elsewhere.

In the meantime, I would urge the true friends of the Egyptian people in the Arab world to stand with this country in every way possible. As the Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend.”

Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.