Inquest into Tunisia beach massacre will examine security advice from tour operators
Travel advice given by tour operators and the Foreign Office prior to the terrorist attack on holidaymakers in Tunisia in June will be scrutinized as part of the inquest into the deaths of 30 Britons.
All of the British holidaymakers killed in the attack had travelled to Tunisia with Thomson or sister company First Choice.
A group of 15 families of the British victims of the attacks together with several of the survivors are suing Thomson and First Choice parent company TUI for damages for allegedly failing to provide adequate security at the hotel in Sousse where a lone gunman carried out the massacre.
They are being represented by law firm Irwin Mitchell, which is claiming that TUI failed to provide reasonable security precautions or adequate warnings to guests before and during their stays.
Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, who is acting a coroner for the inquest, has promised ‘a full, fair and fearless’ investigation into the British deaths at the inquest, although this will not be held until next October or January 2017.
Speaking at an initial review this week, Loraine-Smith said the initial scope of his investigation would include looking at the adequacy of travel advice provided by the Foreign Office and travel companies, in addition to the incident itself.
In total, 38 people died when a lone terrorist opened fire at sunbathers on a beach in Sousse then continued his rampage in a nearby hotel.
It wasn’t until two weeks after the attack, which followed an earlier assault on tourists at the Bardo museum in Tunis, that the Foreign Office imposed a travel ban for Tunisia.
The ban remains and tour operators have still not resumed holidays to the country, which revealed yesterday that it had foiled a second attack at Sousse planned for this month. A Tunisian official said a cell of 17 Islamist militants had been arrested.
Tunisia is also conducting its own inquest into the Sousse murders and Loraine-Smith said he was in contact with the Tunisian judge and expected to receive material from him next month.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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