Slow police response regretted

A tourist lays flowers to honour the victims of the attack at Sousse. Photo / AP

The final five bodies of British victims killed in last weekend's Tunisia beach attack will be flown back to the UK today.

The assault left 30 Britons among 38 dead.

On Friday a minute's silence was held across the UK to remember the victims.

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid also said the slow police response to the attack was a major problem.

When the first inquests opened on Friday the coroner heard Stephen Mellor from Bodmin, Cornwall, was killed by gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen as he shielded his wife, Cheryl.

Yesterday the Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron joined the minute's silence, along with the families of the dead. Tourists and Tunisians gathered at the scene of the attack in Sousse, where they linked arms to observe the pause.

Essid said he was deeply sorry for the attack. Reports suggest the assault took place over almost 35 minutes, and the gunman was able to return to kill some of the wounded before the police arrived. "The time of the reaction — this is the problem," Essid said. "What happened is a horror, unacceptable."