Families aiming to sue after Tunisia terror death verdict

Lawyers said they planned civil proceedings against the tour operator after the coroner, conducting the inquests of the 30 Britons murdered on the Mediterranean coast in Sousse, ruled they were unlawfully killed.

Among them were grandparents Christopher Bell, 59, and his 54-year-old wife Sharon.

Mr Bell, was a former bus and taxi driver who worked in the ticket office at Leeds railway station, and his wife, a carer for people with learning difficulties who rose to a management position, were gunned down by the hotel swimming pool.

Their relatives said they were “never happier than when they were surrounded by their family”.

Summing up, Judge Loraine-Smith, referred to the response of police and military, who were criticised for deliberately stalling their arrival to avoid tackling Rezgui.

He said the local police “most certainly” were responsible for tourist security, and said: “Their response could and should have been effective.”

He added: “The response by the police was at best shambolic, at worst cowardly.”