The heartbroken family of former Birmingham City footballer Denis Thwaites, who was killed in the Tunisia terror attack, told an inquest that an ‘evil and twisted’ ideology has torn apart their lives.
Mr Thwaites, 70, and his wife Elaine, 69, of Blackpool, were among 38 tourists who died in the beach massacre in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse on June 26, 2015.
Their daughter, Lindsey, sat quietly beside her husband, Daniel Clifford, as he paid a moving tribute to the couple at London’s Royal Courts of Justice.
Lindsey Clifford (C) and her husband Danny (R), daughter and son-in-law of former Birmingham City footballer Denis Thwaites and his wife Elaine
Denis and Elaine Thwaites, who were killed on the beach in the Tunisia terror attacks in 2015
Forcing himself to keep his composure, Mr Clifford told the inquest: ‘Lindsey, myself and our family’s lives have been torn apart due to an ideology that is both evil and twisted. They may have taken the best but they will never break the love we shared as a family.’
Seifeddine Rezgui, who opened fire on the tourists at the hotel in Tunisia, and killed 38 people
Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel.
Mr Thwaites was shot in the chest and Mrs Thwaites was shot in the chest and pelvis. They were among 30 Britons who were killed.
Mr Thwaites, who was born in Stockton-on-Tees, played for Birmingham City from 1962 to 1972 after joining the club as an amateur in 1960.
He was part of the squad that won the club’s first major honour – the 1963 League Cup – and missed only six games between November 1964 and April 1966.
He also helped his second division team hold Manchester United, whose players included George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, to a 2-2 draw in an FA Cup tie in February 1969.
Denis Thwaites during his time at Birmingham City FC
Mr Thwaites retired in 1972 at 27 and later moved with his family to Blackpool where he worked as a hospital porter.
It is understood his wife worked in the hotel business before she also retired.
On January 17, the inquest heard that the hotel where 30 British tourists were killed in a terror shooting had used gardeners to boost security before the attack.
But by the time of the shooting at the resort of Sousse by gunman Seifeddine Rezgui in June 2015, which left 38 people dead, the gardeners ‘resumed their normal duties.’
The inquest heard how the British government was warned over a lack of security at beach resorts in Tunisia months before the brutal massacre that saw 30 British tourists killed,
An official report prepared for the Government said hotels in the Sousse region had ‘little effective security’ to prevent or respond to an attack via a beach entrance.
Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui slaughtered 38 people at the coastal resort of Port El Kantaoui on June 26, 2015, entering the complex from the beach and carrying on his killing spree over a two-mile route before he was shot dead.
Andrew Ritchie QC, who represents 20 victims’ families, also told the hearing one tourist who survived the attack had been assured it was ‘100 per cent safe’ to go to Sousse by a travel agent when he booked, weeks after an earlier deadly attack on tourists in the country’s capital.
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