Tunisia is as safe as Skegness, travel agent '˜told holidaymaker after terror attack'

Paul Thompson said that he and his wife were “pushed” towards choosing Tunisia and were told that there were “special deals” on offer at that time - weeks after the attack at the Bardo National Museum in the capital, Tunis, in March 2015 in which 24 people were killed.

A Thomson travel agent said she did not give a safety guarantee to the couple, and that she would not say somewhere is completely safe.

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Mr Thompson said they were told the atrocity was a “one-off” and that another travel agent likened it to avoiding Skegness if there was an attack in London.

On June 26, when Mr Thompson was on holiday, Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse killing 38 tourists, including 30 Britons.

The victims included Bruce Wilkinson, from Goole, Claire Windass, from Hull, and Chris and Sharon Bell, from Leeds.

The inquest into the deaths of the Britons at the Royal Courts of Justice heard that Mr Thompson and his wife had visited the Thomson travel agents in Ilkeston on May 5.

They wanted to discuss changing their holiday to Greece to a different destination.

“We originally wanted Egypt but the travel agent pushed for Tunisia,” Mr Thompson told the inquest.

He said in his statement that he could get all inclusive in a five star hotel because there were “special deals on in Tunisia at that time”.

Mr Thompson said his wife Zoe mentioned the Bardo attack to the travel agent, and said they were told it was a “one-off” and the place was “100% safe”.

He added: “In fact, one of the travel agents there likened it to if something happened in London, would that stop you from going to Skegness?”

In his statement he said they were told the Bardo attack was “a one-off like the 7/7 bombings”.

Amy Smallman, assistant manager of the Thomson travel agents in Ilkeston, told the inquest she did not tell the Thompsons that the destination was “100% safe”.

Ms Smallman said she does not give safety guarantees to customers because “nowhere is 100%”, adding: “I wouldn’t have said that.”

Asked if she was particularly “pushing” Tunisia, she said: “No, not at all.”

Mr Thompson said he was “100% certain” that he and his wife had been given the safety guarantee, adding that a holiday rep at a welcome meeting in Tunisia also said the place was “100% safe”.

He said he was “reasonably sure” that they had also been told that hotels in Tunisia were gated and had 24-hour security, but this is disputed too.

The inquest, which is due to last between six and eight weeks, continues.