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Tourists stand at the scene of Friday's shooting attack in the coastal town of Sousse, Tunisia. Photograph: Leila Khemissi/Associated Press
Tourists stand at the scene of Friday's shooting attack in the coastal town of Sousse, Tunisia. Photograph: Leila Khemissi/Associated Press

British travellers condemn ‘rudeness’ of Foreign Office in wake of Tunisia attack

This article is more than 8 years old
Witnesses have described being left ‘in the dark’ after the shootings, while others claim consular officials were too slow to reach the scene of the attack

Survivors of the Tunisian massacre have criticised the initial Foreign Office response to the tragedy, with one describing its approach as “rude and ignorant”.

Witnesses described being left for hours in the aftermath of the shootings without information, while others said consular officials were slow to reach the scene of the slaughter, claiming that journalists had arrived at the site before them.

Conor Fulford, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, said that in the chaos of the shootings, as he tried to find news of his mother, Sue Davey, the Foreign Office was so dismissive it left him dumbfounded.

Fulford said: “They just said if they find any leads then they will let us know. I’m at a loss for words at the minute. It just comes across as rude and ignorant. They just don’t want to talk to anyone. It’s unbelievable.”

Journalists arriving from the capital Tunis at the hotel in mid-afternoon on Friday – the shootings unfolded shortly before midday – found survivors milling around, uncertain what to do, and asking reporters for information.

Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood said he had spent much of Saturday on the phone with victims and families caught up in the “appalling attack”, adding that the Foreign Office was currently reviewing travel advice to the north African country. A second team of Foreign Office officials has flown out to help survivors.

Other residents criticised tour operator Thomson’s response to the tragedy, saying that its office, close to the main entrance to the hotel Riu Imperial Maharba, one of the hotels involved in the shootings, had its door open but was deserted.

Witnesses also described survivors sitting in groups at tables in the atrium, some crying and asking people about the fate of missing loved ones. On the terrace, tourists – some still in their swimsuits – sat around being served drinks by equally distressed staff. “We’ve not seen anyone from Thomson: I don’t know where they are,” said one Scottish tourist, who asked not to be named, on Friday night. As journalists arrived, some asked if there was any information on what they should do, or whether they could leave the hotel

Concerns among survivors mounted when a team from the Belgian embassy, clad in day-glo jackets bearing their national flag, showed up. The Belgian officials fanned around around the foyer checking the welfare of their few nationals and briefing them on evacuation plans as British tourists waited for their consular officials to arrive.

Survivor Glenn Whitehead had been concerned about security in Tunisia following the massacre of tourists in March at the Bardo museum in Tunis, so he contacted Thomson on the eve of his holiday and claims he was assured that security was fine.

Whitehead’s concerns meant that he and and his wife Anita decided not to leave the hotel to visit Sousse town during their holiday, believing the hotel was well guarded. Anita said: “We haven’t seen anyone from Thomson. We’ve not been told anything.”

She said they had stayed at the hotel the year before, and were comforted then by the sight of daily patrols by police on horseback along the beach. Yet this year, she said, she saw the patrol only once, shortly before the gunman struck.

Despite being the premier location in Sousse, the Marhaba had no armed police or security staff, effectively allowing the gunman to roam the beach and the hotel shooting people at will. Security forces took more than half an hour to arrive.

One Thomson official at the hotel, who did not want to be named, said: “The terrorists knew exactly what they were doing. This is the top hotel here. They knew the effect it would have.”

Later on Friday, Thomson officials in blue T-shirts arrived and began to take names of tourists, drafting in personnel from other hotels.

A statement from Thomson said: “We worked swiftly with the teams in the resort to establish the circumstances. Customer safety was our absolute priority. Staff worked incredibly hard in a very challenging environment. Ten Thomson Airways flights travelled to Tunisia to repatriate approximately 1,000 Thomson and First Choice customers; this all happened as quickly as possible.”

This article was amended on Sunday 28 June 2015. We mistakenly said that Conor Fulford from Staffordshire was staying in a hotel in Sousse. This has been corrected.

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