What happens inside a Cobra meeting, where UK officials hold crisis talks?

The meetings take their name from a room in the Cabinet Office headquarters on Whitehall in London (Picture: EPA)

When there’s a major crisis in the UK, you may hear the name Cobra being mentioned in the news.

It sounds very ominous – and to a large extent it is, when you find out more about why Cobra meetings are held.

They’re essentially emergency briefings which are called when there’s a national or regional crisis, or during events abroad with major implications for the UK.