Home secretary says attack that killed 38 people was not targeted at UK tourists, but warned British death toll is likely to rise

The home secretary, Theresa May, has said there is no evidence that the gunman who shot dead 38 people on a Tunisian beach specifically targeted British tourists, as she warned that the confirmed death toll of 15 Britons was likely to rise.

May, who chaired a meeting of the government’s Cobra security committee on Sunday morning, also said the government had sent a medical liaison team to the coastal resort of Sousse to assist injured Britons, and was expanding a unit sent to examine security around similar tourist sites in Tunisia.

The prime minister, David Cameron, has asked for flags over Downing Street to be flown at half-mast in memory of the victims.

Thousands of British tourists were preparing to fly home following the massacre on Friday, during which student Seifeddine Rezgui walked down the beach and into a hotel firing a Kalashnikov gun. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.



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While many reports suggested Rezgui was targeting tourists – Tunisian workers have recounted that he ordered them to run away – May told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that she did not believe Britons were singled out.

“As you’ll appreciate, this is still an ongoing investigation and we’re working very closely with the Tunisian authorities in relation to this,” she said. “I’ve seen no evidence so far that this was targeted because there were British tourists there.”



She added: “But if course we must recognise that this is the most significant loss of British life in a terrorist attack since 7/7 in the UK.”

The confirmed total of 15 British dead remained the same, May said. “But we are expecting that to rise.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Local people and tourists held a candlelit vigil on Saturday evening. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

May said security warnings would remain constant for the time being. She said, however, that it could be difficult to prevent such future terrorism attacks.

“The threat has become more diverse over time,” she said. “That’s why it’s important for us to sustain the counter-terrorism capabilities of the agencies. We have not just those who will plot for some time, perhaps in a group, to plot a complex attack, but also the possibility of more spontaneous attacks, so-called lone-wolf attacks.”

Speaking to reporters after the Cobra meeting, May said that while consular staff were working “around the clock”, it may take time to give definitive news to relatives in Britain. “The process is a complex one,” she said. “And it is of course imperative that we get it absolutely right for families, and that can sometimes take time”.

The medical team would ensure injured Britons were being properly looked after and assist them in travelling back to the UK, May said. She added: “We’ve also dispatched a small team to Tunisia to look at protective security arrangements around tourist resorts and we’ve decided this morning to increase the numbers of that team, and they will be assessing any extra requirements in relation to security on the ground.”

Holiday firm Tui, meanwhile, which owns Thomson and First Choice, said it was flying people back to the UK on 12 planes leaving Enfidha airport, about 25 miles from Sousse.

It asked for customers to “bear with us” amid a hugely challenging situation. A company statement read: “Those affected by the tragic events in Tunisia are our main priority and we will continue to do all we can to support our customers as well as their family and friends in resort at this exceptionally difficult time.

“We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the friends and families of those involved in this tragic event. The whole of Thomson and First Choice are deeply shocked and truly saddened by the events and we are grateful to our staff on the ground and in the air and the emergency services who are working hard in an incredibly challenging environment.”

More details emerged about the confirmed victims, who also include people from Ireland, Germany and Belgium. Among the British dead are known to be three generations of the same family: 19-year-old student Joel Richards, his uncle Adrian Evans, 49, a gas services manager from Tipton in the West Midlands, and his grandfather. Owen Richards, Joel’s 16-year-old brother, survived the attack.



Also confirmed killed were Carly Lovett, 24, a photographer and beauty blogger, and a couple in their 40s, Sue Davey and Scott Chalkley, as well as Lisa Burbridge from Whickham, Gateshead, and Jim and Ann McQuire from Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire,

Another victim, Trudy Jones, from Blackwood in Gwent, south Wales, was named by her local MP, Chris Evans.

Three Irish nationals are confirmed killed: Lorna Carty, a nurse from Robinstown, Co Meath; and Laurence and Martina Hayes, a couple in their 50s from Co Westmeath.

While official travel advice for Britons heading to Tunisia remained unchanged, the Foreign Office warned that further attacks were possible, “including by individuals who are unknown to the authorities and whose actions are inspired by terrorist groups via social media”.



British police have joined UK embassy and Foreign Office teams at the resort to help identify victims.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A candlelit vigil in Sousse on Saturday night. Photograph: Mohamed Messara/EPA

More details have emerged of the attack. The Washington Post recounted witnesses as saying Rezgui paused at one point to wash his hands and face in the sea, then turned to Tunisian hotel staff who were trying to drag away injured tourists. “He fired his Kalashnikov into the air and yelled, ‘Run! Get away! I’m not here to kill you!’” Ibrahim Ghrib, 23, a lifeguard, told the paper.

Another young Tunisian man told AFP that the gunman shouted at him and other locals: “The terrorist told us: ‘Stay away, I didn’t come for you’. He did not fire at us – he fired at the tourists.”

One Tunisian builder said he helped stop the attack by knocking over the attacker with tiles thrown from the roof, allowing police to shoot him. The man told Channel 4 News he saw Rezgui escape down an alleyway after the shooting and threw the tiles, yelling: “You terrorist, you dog.” Rezgui fell to the floor, and got up shooting wildly, allowing police to catch him, he said.

On Saturday evening, tourists joined local people for a candlelit vigil. Some people held posters saying “Peace” and “Sousse will never die”.

It is the second major attack in Tunisia this year. In March, 21 people, mainly tourists, died when an Islamist-inspired gunman fired at visitors arriving at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

Tunisia’s tourism minister called Friday’s attack a “catastrophe” and authorities vowed to toughen security.