Memorials plan for Britons killed in terror attacks

Memorial on beach in SousseReuters

A service will be held in the autumn dedicated to those caught up in the Tunisia beach attack

The government is to fund two permanent memorials to UK victims of terror, PM David Cameron has announced.

One will honour those who died in the Tunisia beach attack, and a second will commemorate Britons killed in other terror attacks overseas.

Families of the 30 British victims of the attack in Sousse will be consulted on where their memorial will be.

A service will also be held in the autumn, dedicated to those caught up in the attack which killed 38.

'Brutal atrocity'

On Saturday, the final five bodies of British victims were returned to the UK.

"Those who lost their lives in Tunisia last week were innocent victims of a brutal terrorist atrocity," Mr Cameron said.

"It is right that we mark and commemorate them and others murdered by terrorists overseas appropriately and support the loved ones they have left behind in every way we can."

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Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood said the memorial could be in the north of Britain, where many of the victims were from.

The families will be consulted over the design, he said.

Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother Jonathan in the 2002 Bali bombing, has long campaigned for a single memorial to all victims of terror overseas.

'Never forget'

"We have to recognise that there are many victims of terrorism who do not have a grave, whose families don't have a place where they can lay flowers and grieve in the normal way," he said.

"It is therefore appropriate that we have a national memorial for those caught up in terrorism abroad. These people must never be forgotten."

PA

The bodies of all the British victims have now been returned to the UK

The bodies of the final five Britons killed in Tunisia to be repatriated arrived back in the UK on Saturday.

They were:

  • Lisa Burbidge, in her 60s, from Whickham, Gateshead

  • Stuart Cullen, 52, from Lowestoft, Suffolk

  • Christopher Dyer, 32, from Watford

  • Bruce Wilkinson, 72, from Goole, East Riding

  • Claire Windass, 54, from Hull

'State of emergency'

Tunisia has now declared a state of emergency, having already tightened security.

Authorities in the country have identified 28-year-old Tunisian student Seifeddine Rezgui as the gunman who carried out the attack.

They are also holding eight suspects in custody on suspicion of being directly linked to the attack, which jihadist group Islamic State has claimed. Four others who were held have been released.

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