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EY said it takes its responsibilities "extremely seriously" and will be "fully cooperating" with the FRC.

The FRC said the recent public hearings carried out as a broader inquiry into the Horizon scandal did not cover EY's audits of the Post Office, so will not be covered by its investigation.

The FRC wants to focus specifically on the role of statutory auditors - people legally required to review the financial statements of a company - in meeting the auditing standards of that time.

In its latest report, the FRC said that famine had now also hit the Abu Shouk and al-Salam camps in Darfur's besieged city of el-Fasher, as well as two areas in South Kordofan state.

The FRC predicted that five further areas in Darfur could face famine by May, and there was a risk of it spreading to 17 other areas.