Tour operators wanted to increase security at a Tunisian resort before 38 people were killed in a terrorist attack there but were concerned that tourists would be frightened if they saw “an army of police”, an inquest has heard.
The hearing into the deaths of 30 Britons in Sousse in June 2015 was told that the idea of increasing police security and how it could make tourists feel “uncomfortable” was discussed at official meetings a month before the attack.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, representatives of the tour company Tui revealed that a year before the attack the company had considered using the scenario of a beach attack for terrorism preparedness training and was aware of an elevated terror risk in the area but did not want to alarm staff with the information.
The inquests at the Royal Courts of Justice in London also heard that Tunisia’s minister of tourism had reportedly sent a letter to all hotels in the country demanding an upgrade in security in the wake of the Bardo museum terror attack and before the mass shooting in Sousse.
A 23-year-old extremist, Seifeddine Rezgui, opened fire on the beach outside the Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse on 26 June 2015, killing 38 tourists, including 30 Britons.
Venancio Lopez, a managing director at a subsidiary of Tui, told the inquest he raised the issue of resort security on 25 May 2015 in Tunis, two months after the terror attack at the Bardo national museum and one month before the Sousse atrocity.
In his statement to the inquest, he said: “We wanted to increase the security in general but we didn’t want tourists to be scared by seeing an army of police.”
The inquest was told that out of nine hotels in Sousse, the Imperial Marhaba had the fewest cameras, with six in total, while other hotels had up to 49.
The court also heard claims that the Tunisian tourism minister, Selma Rekik, sent a circular letter in May 2015 requiring hotels to guard beach entrances among other improved security measures.
Andrew Ritchie QC, who represents families of 20 victims of the Sousse attack, told the inquest the minister was reported to have sent the letter after the Bardo attack on 18 March, in which three Islamist fundamentalists killed 21 people, mostly European tourists, including one Briton. Ritchie said the letter had been reported on in a French publication’s interview with the minister.
It emerged that a copy of the letter or article had not been formally disclosed to the inquest, prompting Howard Stevens QC, who represents Tui, to object to what he called the “mystery letter” being referenced.
Questioning Lopez, Ritchie said: “Were you aware after Bardo that the minister of tourism announced that the government had sent a circular letter to all hoteliers to upgrade security?
“Were you aware the circular letter required hotels to set up internal security gantries, metal detectors for checking under vehicles and the guarding of beach entrances?”
Lopez, whose role involved delivering holidays to tourists on the ground in Tunisia, said he was not aware of the existence of the letter. Lopez told the inquest he was not responsible for “active security” such as guards and CCTV cameras.
However, Tui sent him as its sole representative to a number of meetings with ministers and embassy officials which dealt with security issues.
“Why did Tui send you to all these meetings on terrorist risk? You’re not trained in terrorist risk,” Ritchie asked. “I am the person dealing with problems with clients,” Lopez replied.
Paul Summerell, a Tui area manager for Tunisia, was asked about an email he sent to a colleague a year before the Sousse attack in June 2014 about training for terrorist scenarios.
He wrote that he was looking into a “real life scenario” for the training, adding: “In my opinion a hotel scenario in Sousse would be the most relevant scenario in Tunisia, but I will leave that up to you.” Summerell told the inquest: “We wanted a realistic training exercise for a crisis scenario.”
The inquest also heard about a letter he sent to a more senior colleague in July 2014 about increased terrorist activity in the Sousse region. He wrote that he did not want it to be made “public knowledge” to staff as it may cause them alarm, and urged his colleague to “react reassuringly” if any of the staff were to say anything.
He said the hotels in Sousse did not see him or his staff’s function as being security related.Ritchie asked Summerell what he would have said if he had known there were no CCTV cameras on the beach gates at the hotel. He replied: “I would have just flagged that up the chain.”
Tui, which owns Thomson Holidays, through which all 30 of the Britons booked their trips, is expected to come under significant scrutiny over its handling of travel advice for Tunisia from the Foreign Office (FCO).
Lawyers representing families of 20 of the deceased Britons are to accuse Tui of “practically hiding and keeping out of the limelight” FCO warnings about terrorism in Tunisia, according to papers submitted in advance of the resumption of inquests.