UK Foreign Office rapped over Tunisia response
Britain’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been criticized over its response to relatives of the survivors of the recent Tunisia attacks.
Witnesses described the FCO’s approach as “rude and ignorant” as they were made to wait four hours after the incident to find out information about the whereabouts of their relatives.
A Briton who was residing in one of the hotels in Sousse, were the attacks took place, Conor 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 Tunisian 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.
Junior Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood said the office was re-evaluating travel advice to Tunisia and assured those affected that a second team of Foreign Office officials has headed to the African country.
Meanwhile, UK Tour operator, Thomson’s was also criticized, with survivors suggesting they had deserted all offices, leaving them without critical information for a period of time before showing up to take the names of the tourists. One survivor by the name Anita said, “We haven’t seen anyone from Thomson. We’ve not been told anything.”
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.”
On Friday, a gunman in Tunisia opened fire and killed at least 38 people on the beaches of Sousse on the northern Mediterranean coast.
The number of Britons killed in the attack continues to rise, with officials confirming that 15 of the victims were of British origin.
The Friday shooting was the second attack that targeted foreign tourists in Tunisia this year. In March, 22 people, mainly foreigners, were killed after militants attacked Bardo museum in Tunis. The March attack was also claimed by the ISIL extremists.
SU/GHN
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