Mr Hamish Falconer

I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for the tone of her questions. She rightly points to the scale of this; it is the single largest loss of British life in an aviation accident since 9/11, and one of the single largest losses of British national life overseas in one incident in a long time. Ten years ago this month, practically, I was part of the diplomatic service on the ground in Sousse after a terrible tragedy. I know well the agony for families seeking to pick up the pieces after an incident like this. The right hon. Lady asks an important question about the mortuary process, which can be particularly traumatic in another country. I can confirm that any British national who wants consular assistance in going through that process will have it from my officials. She rightly raises questions that have been asked by some of the families about the location of our reception centre and our presence at the hospital. Since becoming aware of those reports, I have sent officials to the hospital. We are not aware at the moment of British nationals congregating there. I have asked officials to review the signage and general arrangements to ensure that people know where our reception centre is. It is at Ummed hotel, which is close to the airport, because we though that would be the best place to receive British nationals, rather than the hospital, where, tragically, there are no living British nationals. We keep these questions under review. As I know from my experience, in tragedies like this, it is difficult to get right the first time the assistance that British nationals need. We will learn lessons with each step. I spoke to some of the families who made those points this afternoon.