We are a target of Islamist extremists, says PM as Theresa May flies to Tunisia in wake of biggest loss of British life to terrorism since 2005 London bombings

Islamist extremists “have declared war on Britain and they are attacking our people at home and overseas”, David Cameron has said in response to the killing of as many as 30 British tourists in Tunisia.



Pledging a “full spectrum” response to the massacre, Cameron said Theresa May, the home secretary, had flown to Tunisia on Monday for talks on how to address the extremist threat and to pay her condolences at the scene.



“We are a target,” said Cameron, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Frankly, we cannot hide from this thinking if you step back you become less of a target. They are attacking our way of life and what we stand for, and so we have to stand united with those that share our values.”

Tunisia beach attack: the victims Read more

He said May had gone to Tunisia to see what more the British government could do to help the investigation into the killing of the tourists. An RAF C-17 transport plane had been sent out to help with the evacuation of holidaymakers, and Cameron said the government was ready to repatriate victims’ bodies if requested by their families.

“We are very happy to look at that. There are all sorts of other arrangements being put in place but I am keen that, as a nation, we show respect and our condolences … and if they would like for us to try and bring back the bodies of their loved ones with dignity and respect that is something we can do.”



The attack in Tunisia represents the biggest loss of British life to terrorism since the 2005 London bombings, in which 56 people – including the attackers – were killed. Although 18 Britons have been confirmed to have died in Tunisia, the toll is expected to pass 30.

The remaining six British holidaymakers who were injured in the attack will be back in Britain in the next 24 hours as British authorities press the Tunisians to speed up the identification of the remaining dozen or so UK citizens believed to have been killed.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said 18 bodies had been identified so far. The six injured being returned to Britain were likely to return on an RAF plane, but the dead will be repatriated by a variety of routes following consultation with their families. She was speaking after a meeting of Cobra, the emergency response committee, focused largely on the attack as opposed to any wider policy response.

She said the number of British security officials was being increased, but it was for the Tunisian authorities to lead the investigation, including whether the gunman had an accomplice. She would not speculate on whether the Tunisians believed it was a wider organised attack directed by Isis.

The security officials are also looking at how British tourists can be

better protected in Tunisia. The spokeswoman said there was no short-term plan to change in travel policy despite the PM’s warning Britain faced an existential threat.

May began her visit with a minute’s silence at the improvised memorial on the beach where the massacre began. Dressed in a black suit and carrying a large bunch of flowers, she came with her Tunisian, French and German counterparts. Also in her delegation was foreign office minister Tobias Ellwood, whose brother was killed in the Bali terrorist attack in 2005.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Theresa May lays flowers on the beach of the Sousse resort in Tunisia

The group stood in sombre silence at the edge of an expanse of abandoned sun-loungers, beside a small pile of flowers and messages of condolence – one read simply “Why?” – before heading off to visit injured survivors in hospital.

May described the attack as a “despicable act of cruelty”. She said: “Tunisia is a symbol of what is possible”, and the meeting with interior ministry colleagues had shown a determination to fight “perverted ideology”. They were looking for concrete ways to share expertise dealing with this threat. “The terrorists will not win, we are resolved in that,” May said.



Sixteen Metropolitan police detectives, forensic science specialists and family liaison officers have arrived in the country and more will join them to assist the investigation.



Tunisian investigators said they were seeking one or more accomplices to the 23-year-old killer, Seifeddine Rezgui, who was shot dead by police after his assault at the Imperial Marhaba hotel.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Video exclusively obtained by Sky News shows the moment Selfeddine Rezgui begins his attack inside the grounds of a hotel in Tunisia

Cameron urged Britain to show extraordinary resolve and strength, saying it had to recognise it was in for a long haul in a battle to defeat Islamic extremism. He said it was vital to defeat the assailants’ poisonous narrative – “the attack was horrific and had shocked the whole world”.



Government sources also said ministers would press ahead with Conservative manifesto plans for restrictions on extremist views on social media, as well as banning extremist but not violent organisations such as Hizb ut-Tahrir. No timescale was given.

Cameron said the government should not engage with organisations that were apologists for extremism such as condoning suicide attacks in Israel.

He urged the BBC not to call the self-described militant organisation Islamic State, saying it was an appalling barbarous regime that was a perversion of Islam and would lead most Muslims to recoil.

Cameron said: “The creation of this poisonous death cult is seducing too many young minds in Europe, America, the Middle East and elsewhere, and this is going to be the struggle of our generation.”

Insisting Britain was providing a “full spectrum” response, the prime minister defended the level of British commitment in Iraq, saying the aim was to crush Isis in Iraq as well as in Syria. He insisted Britain was the second largest contributor in air strikes in Iraq and claimed the level of UK commitment was higher than in previous British commitments in Iraq. He was challenged that Britain had launched 300 strikes in comparison with 600 by the US in Iraq, but he said Britain was investing heavily in air strikes that made a difference.



Tunisia attack: thousands of UK tourists begin arriving home Read more

On Syria, he said President Bashar al-Assad was one of the causes of the rise of Isis due to his “appalling treatment” of Sunni communities. He denied Isis was winning militarily, claiming instead it had lost a lot of territory, and insisted the group could be defeated militarily.

In Britain, he asserted the need to bring young British Muslims back into society, saying he recognised the role of imans in combating extremism, but added: “There are a lot of extremists that buy into a lot of the narrative of the terrorists – that they want a caliphate, that Muslims and Christians cannot live peacefully together, or that they want to subjugate women. We have to say in our country that those views, while they fall short of condoning terrorism, are not acceptable either. This is something that can be fixed but it can take many many years.”

Cameron denied he was refusing to engage with the Muslim community as a whole but only those organisations that were at the gateway to terrorism by accepting the extremists’ narrative. He said the British government would not treat them as spokespeople for the Muslim community.

Scotland Yard said it was tightening security and protection at Wimbledon and other “key sites, business and public places around the UK to help ensure they are safe for visitors and workers”.