Tunisia attack: Injured Britons flown home by RAF

• 30 June 2015
 
• From the sectionUK

The plane carrying injured Britons landed at Birmingham Airport before flying on to RAF Brize Norton

Four British tourists seriously injured in the Tunisian beach attack have been flown back to the UK by the RAF.

Up to 18 UK citizens have been confirmed dead, and it is feared the number will rise to about 30.

The government says all those hurt at the resort near Sousse on Friday will be brought home in the coming hours.

The Tunisia authorities have arrested several people on suspicion of helping the gunman, who had links to the jihadist group Islamic State.

A team of British consular staff was on the ground in Tunisia within hours of the attack, and are currently helping victims and their families.

The four injured Britons returned on a specially-modified RAF C17 transport plane which left Brize Norton in Oxfordshire for Tunisia on Monday afternoon. Medics experienced at bringing injured service personnel back from operations overseas were on board.

The Ministry of Defence said the plane flew into Birmingham airport, where one of the patients was taken off, before it continued to Brize Norton.

The MoD said it was working with NHS England to arrange "patients' onward moves once they're back in the UK to take each person to the best hospital in their area for their needs".

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is to chair a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee.

Meanwhile, a major exercise to test how British police and security services would respond to a terrorist attack begins in central London.

Scotland Yard is stressing that the two-day training drill had been planned in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo magazine murders in Paris in January and is not in response to any new threat.

Tunisia beach attack: The victims

The names of those killed in the attack are slowly emerging. Here's what we know so far about those who lost their lives, as well as those who are injured and missing.

Some survivors have also been speaking out about their ordeal

A national minute's silence will take place on Friday at 12:00 BST, a week after the shooting.

Every primary and secondary school in England is also starting to receive guidance on how to spot grooming of pupils by extremists.

The document forms part of the government's Prevent counter-terrorism strategy and follows concerns over potential radicalisation of teenagers, but is not a response to the Tunisia attack.

All British nationals injured in Tunisia are expected to return home in the coming hours

In a speech to the Commons on Monday, following a minute's silence held by MPs, Prime Minister David Cameron described the attack as "brutal and sickening".

Earlier, Home Secretary Theresa May laid flowers on the beach near Sousse where gunman Seifeddine Rezgui shot at people near the Imperial Marhaba and Bellevue hotels.

Mrs May held talks with the Tunisian, German, French and Belgian interior ministers on addressing the threat from IS.

The Tunisian authorities have said they believe the 23-year-old student had help with the attack, and one of those detained is reported to be Mr Rezgui's flatmate, according to local media.

Background and analysis

• What we know so far
• Special report on Tunisia attack
• How do terrorist attacks affect tourism
• Tributes have been paid to victims in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
• What can UK police do?

Tributes are continuing to be paid to the British victims, who include three generations of the same family, university graduates and a husband who died trying to shield his wife.

Most identities of the British victims have not been officially released.

But former Birmingham City footballer Denis Thwaites and his partner Elaine are among the latest fatalities to have emerged. The BBC understands the couple from Lancashire, were staying at the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba in Sousse when the attack took place.

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Media captionAngela Evans explains in graphic detail how she survived the Tunisian beach attack

Three Irish people were also killed, along with one Belgian and one German, and Tunisians are also thought to be among the dead. At least 36 people were injured.

Holiday firms Thomson and First Choice announced they had cancelled all their holidays to Tunisia which leave on or before Thursday 9 July. Customers can receive a full refund or choose an alternative destination free of charge.

Tour companies have laid on extra flights and about 10,000 British tourists have flown home from Tunisia since Friday, according to the Association of British Travel Agents.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to warn that further terrorist attacks in Tunisia are possible, and urged people to be vigilant.

The Tunisian government has brought in increased security measures, and the country's Interior Minister Mohamed Gharsalli said 1,000 troops would now be deployed to protect the country's beach resorts.

on Monday, June 29, 2015