Tunisia beach massacre: Law firm calls for inquest transparency
Lawyers representing 20 of the families who lost loved ones in the June 2015 beach attack in Tunisia are calling for all of the inquest evidence to be made public.
As the final pre-inquest review into the terror attack took place yesterday, law firm Irwin Mitchell said it was vital families have an unrestricted right to hear the evidence in full, although it appreciated the need for national security.
Her Majesty’s Government has applied to have some of the evidence considered behind closed doors due to its sensitivity.
The full inquests into the death of 30 British victims, all on holiday with Thomson, will begin on 16 January and are expected to take six to eight weeks.
The inquests are expected to have a bearing on the legal case being put together by 20 families against Thomson.
In total 38 people were killed and a similar number injured when a lone gunman opened fire on a beach in the popular resort of Sousse.
After the attack, the UK Government imposed a ban on all but essential travel to Tunisia.
The Sousse attack came three months after a terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, which led to the deaths of 20 foreign tourists.
Clive Garner, head of the specialist international personal injury team at Irwin Mitchell, said: "The families feel that it is important that all available information is shared with the court, particularly in relation to the safety procedures and protocols put in place following the previous acts of terrorism in the country just months earlier.
"While we recognise the need to safeguard information critical to national security, this needs to be balanced with the families right to a transparent and open hearing."
He said it was crucial the inquests shed light on exactly what happened during the attack and the lead up to it.
"There are serious concerns about was done in the face of what appears to have been an escalating threat of terrorist activity in Tunisia prior to the events in Sousse," he said.
"Obviously nothing can bring back those who lost their lives in such tragic circumstances, but the families we represent are seeking to have their questions answered and for lessons to be learned to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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