SOME police deliberately delayed their arrival on the scene of a terror attack on a Tunisian beach in which 38 tourists were killed, including two Scots couples, an inquest has been told.
Officers were criticised by a local investigation into their lack of action as extremist Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi roamed a beach in the resort of Sousse 'systematically' shooting dead holidaymakers as they lounged on their sunbeds.
A Tunisian interior minister said in one report following the attack in June 2015 that security officers nearby had consciously slowed down their arrival at the resort's Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel.
The claims were made at an inquest into the deaths in London, where at least one relative of a victim walked out as CCTV footage was played showing him being shot dead.
Inquest counsel Samantha Leek QC said a Tunisian judge had identified failings by local units which could have ended the slaughter before more police arrived and shot Rezgui dead.
She said: “He said the units that should have intervened in the events deliberately and unjustifiably slowed down to delay their arrival at the hotel.
“They had the ability to put an end to the attack before the police arrived but wasted a considerable amount of time in getting to the hotel.”
The victims included Jim McQuire, 67, and his wife Ann, 64, from Cumbernauld, who had only booked their break two weeks beforehand, and Billy Graham, 51, and his wife Lisa, who were on a belated 50th birthday celebration from their home in Bankfoot, Perthshire.
CCTV footage showed the killer as he approached the hotel with his gun hidden under a parasol. He then entered and shot at least one tourist.
In one scene, 72-year-old grandfather Bruce Wilkinson, from Goole, East Yorkshire, was gunned won. It was at this point a woman, thought to be a family member, left.
Another clip was shown of the gunman being dropped off in a white van, before walking away carrying a large item.
He is also seen on images walking along the shoreline, past a tent and yellow boats, with people seen running in panic in what is believed to have been the beginning of the attack.
Ms Leek added that on June 26 2015 Rezgui “entered the hotel from the beach, carrying an automatic weapon and a number of explosives”.
She added: “He systematically took the lives of 38 people who had travelled to Tunisia for enjoyment, luxury and relaxation.”
An armed guard on the beach opened fire on Rezgui, but fell to the ground “seemingly unconscious” after the gunman threw a grenade at him, she added.
This led to a local speedboat driver, named as AI, picking his gun up and attempting to confront Rezgui. However he was unable to work the weapon.
She said Rezgui was thought to have acted alone on the beach - albeit with an accomplice in a van nearby - and AI brandishing the gun may have sparked reports at the time of a second gunman involved in the shooting.
The hearing, scheduled to last for seven weeks, will also examine security in place at the hotel by tour firm TUI and the travel advice issued for Tunisia by the UK Government.
Before Monday’s hearing the Government applied for certain elements of the inquests to be kept private over concerns about national security.
An earlier hearing was told that many families feared the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) may have failed in its responsibilities to thousands of British tourists.
In March 2015, the Bardo National Museum in Tunis was targeted with 24 deaths.
It is alleged that Thomson had told some families the resort was safe. The inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice continues.
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