The Tunisia inquests heard evidence from Jane Marriott, director of the Joint International Counter Terrorism Unit, who said that 2004 guidelines meant the FCO did not advise against all travel to Tunisia in the wake of the Bardo attack.
Marriott said this advice would only be given if there were “specific, large scale and endemic” threats to British nationals. “We did not have anything to indicate that that threshold had been met,” she said. Advice was strengthened only slightly to say that terrorist groups “continue to threaten attacks”.
Representing 20 victims, Andrew Ritchie QC questioned why wording had said attacks could be “indiscriminate”.
“Why does it not say tourists are targeted? It did not say tourists are a potential target anywhere.”
Ritchie added that German advice was that tourists were being targeted, but Marriott replied that tourists could be “among targets”, which included “a wide range of people”.
Last year, the FCO held a consultation on travel advice following calls for changes to the system. The results were released quietly just before Christmas. Advice will now include likelihood, extent and context of terrorist threats.
Ritchie said it would be “heartening” for the victims’ families to know that procedures had been changed since Sousse.
Marriott agreed, but added: “I can’t speculate as to what [the advice] might have been with hindsight.”
The inquests continue.
