Tunisia police were ‘cowardly’ in beach terror
Coroner rules 30 British tourists ‘unlawfully killed’ in massacre but there was no neglect by tour firm
THE response of Tunisian police to a beach massacre in which 30 British tourists died was condemned as “shambolic and cowardly” by a coroner yesterday, as it emerged that hotel guards fled, police delayed their arrival, and one armed officer at the scene fainted in “terror and panic”.
The six-week inquest had heard how – in the deadliest attack on Britons overseas since the World Trade Center in 2001 – jihadist Seifeddine Rezgui was allowed to walk through the five-star Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse with grenades and a Kalashnikov assault rifle for 45 minutes, systematically shooting dead holidaymakers.
Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, sit- ting as a coroner, ruled that all 30 Britons were “unlawfully killed” in the June 2015 massacre, but he rejected calls to rule “neglect” by either the holiday company TUI, or the hotel itself. However, he was scathing about the response of Tunisian security forces and described how one officer “fainted through terror and panic” when Rezgui threw a grenade at him which did not go off. The guard dropped his gun and hid behind a parasol once he regained consciousness. Another removed his shirt to hide the fact that he was an officer. Judge Loraine-Smith said that police who could have been on the scene in three minutes actually took around 45 minutes to arrive, with one armed unit stopping off to pick up more weapons instead of going straight to the beach. “They had everything required to confront the gunman and could have been at the scene in minutes,” he said. “The delay was deliberate and unjustifiable.” With the exception of two marine guards on a boat patrol, the judge continued, no police entered the grounds until all 38 tourists were dead. Only when the National Guard arrived was Rezgui shot dead. He added: “The response by police was at best shambolic and at worst cowardly.”
Relatives of the dead wept as the ruling was delivered and many are now preparing to sue TUI for damages.
However, despite criticism of police and security at the hotel, Judge Loraine-Smith said little could have been done to have stopped a terrorist with a Kalashnikov. The only thing that would have made a “dramatic” difference to the bloodshed was armed guards stationed at the hotel, but this was not possible under Tunisian law, he noted.
The attacks happened three months after militants stormed the Bardo Museum in Tunis, killing 21 people, and the Foreign Office had warned of a high terrorism threat, but did not advise against travel to the country and many said they were unaware of the risks.
It was found that despite TUI’s duty to inform tourists of the advice, a “crib sheet” for sales staff to answer questions on the security situation did not mention terrorism or where to find official Foreign Office advice.
However, Judge Loraine-Smith said: “The simple but tragic truth in this case is that a gunman armed with firearms, ammunition and grenades went to that hotel intending to kill as many tourists as he could.”
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the hearing, Kylie Hutchison, the lawyer representing most of the victims’ families, said: “It is now crucial the whole travel industry learns from what happened in Sousse.” In court for yesterday’s ruling was Owen Richards, who lost his brother, Joel, and his uncle and grandfather, Adrian and Charles Evans, in the attack. He was 16 at the time and tried to shield his dying grandfather. The judge praised his “extraordinary courage”.
“I was hugging granddad on the floor and then I could see out of my righthand corner my brother, and seeing him dive to the floor,” Mr Richards told police in an interview that was heard at the inquest. He added: “Granddad just said, ‘He’s got me’.”