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Tunisia: Bodies Of Eight Victims Back In UK

An RAF plane carrying the bodies of eight Britons killed in the Tunisia beach terror attack has landed in the UK.

A C-17 military transport aircraft, which left Tunis earlier today, landed at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at around 3pm.

When the plane landed relatives of those on board wept and comforted each other.

The coffins of Adrian Evans, Patrick Evans, Joel Richards, Carly Lovett, Stephen Mellor, John Stollery, and Denis and Elaine Thwaites were adorned with white flowers and were carried off the aircraft by members of the armed forces.

They were among the 38 tourists shot dead by Seifeddine Rezgui at the beach resort of Sousse on Friday.

A total of 29 Britons are now confirmed to have been killed in the attack.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he is looking at creating a ministerial committee to co-ordinate work across Government "to provide all the support that the victims of this appalling attack deserve and also to make sure that, as a nation, we mark and commemorate this event appropriately".

Tunisia's health ministry says it has identified all of the victims, and 30 of them are British.

However, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office is yet to confirm this.

The repatriation process is expected to take several days.

A statement issued on behalf of Suzanne Richards, who lost her son, brother and father in the attack, described them as "pure diamonds" who will never be forgotten.

In a statement released through West Midlands Police, Mrs Richards revealed Joel Richards, 19, his 49-year-old uncle Adrian Evans and her husband Patrick Evans, 78, were killed within the first 24 hours of their trip.

Joel's 16-year-old brother Owen survived.

The holiday was to celebrate Joel completing his second year of university with high marks and Owen finishing his GCSEs.

Mrs Richards said: "We are a very small and normal family, but nothing will ever be normal again.

"My son Joel, dad Pat and brother Adrian were our rocks and we are all heartbroken and devastated and will never get over losing them."

The chief coroner has said the bodies will be released to their bereaved families as soon as possible after post-mortem examinations have taken place.

After arriving in the UK, the bodies will be transported to west London, where senior coroner Chinyere Inyama will assume jurisdiction.

CT scans will be conducted in order to establish the precise cause of death.

Chief coroner for England and Wales, His Honour Judge Peter Thornton QC, said: "Thereafter he (Mr Inyama) will release the bodies to the families for burial or cremation as soon as is reasonably practicable.

"No doubt he will work towards as early a release as possible in each case."

The inquests will likely be held together "in view of the circumstances of the killings", Mr Thornton said.

Three Irish were killed the attack, and the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has said they will be flown home within 24 hours.

Final preparations have begun to repatriate the bodies of Lorna Carty, a nurse from Robinstown, County Meath, who went on holiday with her husband Declan to help him recover from a heart attack, and husband and wife Martina and Laurence Hayes, from Westlodge, Athlone.

The funeral for Mr and Mrs Hayes will take place at the Church of Saint Peter and Paul in Athlone on Friday.

David Thompson, an 80-year-old from Tadley, Hampshire, has been confirmed as the latest British victim.

The retired scientist is understood to have worked for the Atomic Weapons Establishment, and has been described as a keen walker.

Relatives of Christopher and Sharon Bell, from the Killingbeck area of Leeds, said earlier they are "deeply saddened" by their deaths after it was confirmed they also died.

The family of John Welch, from Corsham in Wiltshire, have had confirmation that he died in the attack.

The 74-year-old was in Tunisia with his partner of eight years, Eileen Swannack, 73, and the couple were regular visitors to Sousse.

Wiltshire Police are waiting for the formal identification of Mrs Swannack, but it is highly likely she also died.

All of the Britons wounded in the attack have now returned.

They are being treated at hospitals in Birmingham, Oxford, Plymouth and London.

Among them is Allison Heathcote, whose husband was killed as they celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.

Mrs Heathcote has undergone five hours of surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and remains in a critical condition.