A SCOTS couple are among the dead and two others are feared killed in the beach terror attack in Tunisia, amid expectations the death toll of Britons will rise to nearly 30.
James and Ann McQuire, from Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, were named by friends as amongst the fatalities from Friday's gun attack.
At least 15 Britons were among 39 holidaymakers killed in the beach massacre, with Whitehall sources indicating the death toll of UK nationals could "reach into the high twenties".
Relatives of Scots Billy and Lisa Graham are continuing their agonising wait for news to discover if the Perth couple have been caught up in the beach massacre.
Daughter Holly Graham has failed to hear anything from parents since the tragedy in Sousse.
At her home in Bankfoot, Perthshire, yesterday, one friend said: "We are just here to support her at the moment. We have heard nothing new at all about what's happened. She's not heard anything from them at all. We're very worried."
David Cameron will today update MPs on the death toll in a House of Commons statement on the worst Islamic terror atrocity since the 7/7 attacks in London 10 years ago.
The Foreign Office has warned that further terrorist attacks in Tunisia were possible and urged any Britons remaining in the country to be vigilant.
Ministers in London and Edinburgh held emergency meetings to consider the practicalities of helping families involved in the tragedy, travel advice and security for holidaymakers. Downing Street lowered its flags in respect for the dead.
In Edinburgh, Nicola Sturgeon chaired another meeting of the Scottish Government's Resilience Committee to ensure her administration was doing all it could to help the victims of "this senseless attack" and their families.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf, the Solicitor General and senior Police Scotland representatives also took part in the meeting to discuss the ongoing response to the attack and support for Scots affected.
She said the threat level for the UK remained at severe and that counter-terrorism measures were in place to respond to this. The advice from Police Scotland, she said, was to "stay vigilant and alert".
Ms Sturgeon added: "I would like to offer my heartfelt sympathies to everyone who may have lost a loved one in this attack.
"We are prepared for the possibility that there may be Scottish victims among those who have lost their lives, but we have not yet received official confirmation of this."
The McQuire were heavily involved with the Church of Scotland at Abronhill and had only booked their holiday a fortnight before leaving.
Relatives of the couple had told the local minister that authorities were "99.9 per cent sure" they were dead.
Mr McQuire, a captain with the Boys' Brigade, had been due to attend a Royal Garden Party at Edinburgh on his return.
Prayers for the couple were said at the regular Sunday morning service, attended by relatives and friends.
Minister Joyce Keyes said: "I don't think I can make any sense of it at all. My feeling is of numbness.
"They were regular holiday-goers since their retirement and were really looking forward to it."
The family of Mr and Mrs Graham have been contacted by liaison officers from Police Scotland but have not been offered any detailed information about their parents.
Their daughter Holly said: "(Holiday company) Thomson are like they're just reading off a piece of paper. I've had friends phoning on my behalf of me because you can imagine I'm a little bit of an emotional wreck at the moment.
"They said the same. It's like they're just reading off a piece of paper that they've been given to tell people."
A neighbour in Bankfoot said: "The whole village is shocked. We are keeping our fingers crossed for good news, but hope is definitely fading for the Grahams.
"I knew they were away on holiday, but I didn't even know where they were to be honest. It's beyond belief that this could happen to an innocent couple on a holiday."
Kalashnikov-wielding student Seifeddine Rezgui targeted western tourists as he terrorised the popular resort.
His killing spree on the beach at the RIU Imperial Marhaba and the RIU Bellevue ended when he was shot dead by police. A bomb was found on his body.
Across the weekend hundreds of Scots holidaymakers caught up in the terror attacks flew home.
As they streamed through the arrivals terminal at Glasgow airport, many were greeted by friends and family, while some broke down in tears.
One man told of how Rezgui had run past him as he was swimming in a pool near the beach.
Cal Sarwar, 50, a writer on Islamic terrorism, had been holidaying alone and decided to take a dip just before the Sousse tragedy.
He said: "I had earplugs on, swimming away and I pulled my head up out off the water and saw chaos.
"At first I thought I heard fireworks. The guy had a Kalashnikov, he came from the water and had re-loaded several times and by the time I got out of the pool he had gone into a hotel.
"He went past me but I didn't see him, only the devastation afterwards."
Sandra Clason and partner James Erskine, from Bo'Ness, were staying in a hotel just metres from the shootings.
Sandra, 53, said: "At first we thought it was fireworks, then we thought 'is it a bomb'?
"You could hear it getting closer and then....nothing. We were some of the lucky ones, we were just coming down from the hotel at the time."
Last night, the father of Rezgui said he was ashamed of his son's actions.
Hakim Rezgui, who had been questioned by police about the attack him, added that he was sorry for all the lives that had been lost.
Mr Rezgui said: "My god, I am so shocked. I don't know who has contacted him, influenced him or who has put these ideas in his head. He has new friends who got him into this.
"My son had no problem with anyone. But I don't know who has changed his mind, influenced him and who has warped his mind."
Meanwhile, a former head of the British Army has said military support on the ground must be increased in the battle to fight Islamic State (IS).
Lord Dannatt said more must be done to tackle the jihadi force, including looking at sending in allied special forces to destabilise its powerbase.
Asked if enough was being done militarily to defeat IS, the peer told BBC One's Sunday Politics: "The short answer is no. We are not doing enough right across the piste.
"On the military lines we have got to do much more to support those in the region who are fighting Islamist extremists on the ground."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article