Campaigners have called for a vigil in solidarity with the victims outside the Home Office in London tomorrow.

Claire Moseley, from Care4Calais, said: "We are horrified to hear of the deaths of 39 vulnerable and exploited people, but not surprised.

"The lack of safe legal routes for people to apply for asylum means that every day people who are simply seeking safety undertake dangerous journeys. It has become near impossible for people to come to the UK in a safe way."

Image source, Geograph/Ian Capper

Stena Line, which operates Holyhead Port in North Wales, said it was ready to provide "assistance" to police.

As earlier reported, the lorry entered Wales on Saturday and Essex Police, external believe it is "from Bulgaria".

In a statement, the company said: "We are aware of the devastating situation that has come to light this morning regarding a lorry that was located in Essex.

"At this time, the Essex police are investigating and in control of the incident.

"Our thoughts are with the families of those whom have lost their lives. We are ready and available to provide any assistance that is required to support the investigation."

Image source, PA Media

Essex Police said the vehicle is from Bulgaria and entered the British mainland via Holyhead, Anglesey, in north west Wales, on Saturday.

A spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs in Bulgaria told the Press Association: "Our embassy in London is in contact with the British authorities to clarify the case involving the 39 people found dead in a truck in Essex.

"The British police have been contacted and a representative of our embassy has also had a meeting at the Foreign Office in London.

"At present, it has not yet been confirmed whether the truck has a Bulgarian registration.

"There is also no indication of the nationality of the human bodies found in the truck.

"British police have warned that the identification of the bodies will take a long time."

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

In response to Diane Abbott's comments, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "There are some fundamental points about potential links to criminality and what we should be doing as a country to stand by those who really should not be trafficked in any way whatsoever.

"As a country we lead the world in many of our ways of working internationally. I think fundamentally there is always a point of international co-operation or collaboration."

Ms Patel said the UK had to "do the right thing as a country" to uphold the "right kind of values". She said this meant making sure people fleeing war zones and conflicts were given asylum "in the right way".

Diane Abbott continued: "It's important to remember that these 39 poor, unfortunate people are the victims in this.

"They are preyed on by the greedy, unscrupulous and people who simply have a willful disregard for the lives of others."

She also said there was an "obligation" where people are "moving legally" to provide "safe and legal routes".

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: "Any death under these circumstances is truly appalling. Each of the 39 will have partners, family or friends who perhaps even now don't know how their loved one died and the horrible circumstances.

"I would like to commend the emergency services for their work and share with the member for Thurrock [the constituency the lorry was found] the horror that these emergency workers will have seen sights that will live with them forever."

Home Secretary Priti Patel continued: "While the nationalities of the victims are not yet known, I have asked my officials to work closely with the investigation to provide all assistance we can.

"This is on top of the joint work that is taking place already between the police, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, the National Crime Agency and other enforcement agencies."

The Home Secretary Priti Patel has been speaking in the House of Commons after Essex Police launched the murder investigation.

"This is truly a truly shocking incident," she said. "My thoughts and all thoughts and condolences are with the victims and their loved ones at this utterly terrible time."

Image source, Press Association

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Roger Hirst has said: "The death of 39 people in a container... is a tragic event.

"We must think of the victims, their loved ones and families. It is important that the police have the space and time to conduct a thorough investigation, so that they all can have justice."

A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Yvette Cooper, Labour MP and chair of the home affairs committee, has issued a statement:

"The news that 39 bodies have been found in a lorry container in Essex is truly awful. It is unbearable to imagine so many lives being lost in this way.

"Essex Police are in the early stages of a murder investigation and have not yet been able to identify the victims or determine their nationality.

"We don't yet know the circumstances of this tragedy, but we do know that people trafficking and smuggling is one of the most dangerous crimes there is, where people profit from putting lives at risk.

"This investigation will need to work across borders with the Irish police, Bulgarian police and other police forces to find those responsible and to prevent other lives being put at risk."

The Press Association says police in Bulgaria are "aware of the incident", with a spokeswoman adding that British officers are leading the investigation.

As reported earlier, Essex Police said the lorry was from Bulgaria and entered Wales on Saturday.

Thurrock's Conservative MP Jackie Doyle-Price, whose constituency includes the Grays industrial estate, has spoken about the events at Prime Minister's Questions.

She said: "To put 39 people into a locked metal container shows a contempt of human life that is evil and the best thing we can do in memory of those victims is find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

"Would my right honourable friend [the prime minister] join me in paying tribute to all those that attended the scene this morning? Let's remember the scenes they witnessed will stay with them forever."

In response, Boris Johnson said he "entirely agreed" with what Ms Doyle-Price had said.

"It is hard to put ourselves in the shoes of those emergency services as they were asked to open that container and to expose the appalling crime that had taken place," he said.

"I do share a strong desire now that the perpetrators of that crime and indeed all those who engage in similar activity - all such traders in human beings - should be hunted down and brought to justice."

Essex Police has said identification of the victims was its "number one priority" and has set up a phone line for those worried about relatives.

It is not yet known where the 39 dead people are from, although the lorry they were on was believed to be from Bulgaria.

The lorry which was found in Essex this morning is thought to have entered the British mainland via Holyhead in Wales on Saturday.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish premier, has told the Republic's parliament in Dublin that there are "some reports that the truck may have passed through Ireland at some point".

"I think everyone's thoughts in this House are with those who are dead, those who have passed on and their families," he said.

"It is a real terrible and human tragedy, and we will carry out any investigations that are necessary if it's established that the truck did pass through Ireland."

Boris Johnson also spoke about the deaths at the beginning of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

"This is an unimaginable tragedy and truly heart-breaking. I know that the thoughts and prayers of all members will be with those who lost their lives and their loved ones," said the PM..

"The Home Office will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened and my right honourable friend the Home Secretary will be making an oral statement immediately after these questions."

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is due to speak on the subject later.

A man remains in custody having been arrested on suspicion of murder after the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager were found inside the lorry container in Essex.

This is the statement from Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills of Essex Police a few minutes ago.

The Deputy Chief Constable's statement is available to read in full on the Essex Police website, external.

• The bodies of 39 people - thought to be 38 adults and one teenager - were found at an industrial estate in Grays in the early hours of Wednesday morning. There were no survivors
• A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested and was being questioned on suspicion of murder
• Essex Police said the vehicle is "from Bulgaria" and entered the British mainland via Holyhead in Wales on Saturday
• The force has not identified where the victims are from and said identifying them was "our number one priority"
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reacted on Twitter and said he was "appalled by this tragic incident"

You can read more BBC coverage here.

Image source, PA Media

The National Crime Agency has confirmed it has deployed officers to assist police in their investigation.

A statement added: "We are working with partners including Essex Police and Immigration Enforcement to provide specialist support to urgently identify and take action against any organised crime groups who might have played a role in causing these deaths."

The brief press conference has now concluded, during which the Deputy Chief Constable called the event "an absolute tragedy and very sad day for Essex Police and the community".

Pippa Mills added: "We will continue to work alongside many other partner agencies to find out what led to these deaths."