The operation to return the bodies of Britons killed by a gunman in the Tunisian beach massacre to the UK has begun.
The first RAF flights left Britain early this morning and will carry the bodies of Britons back to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, with the repatriation process expected to take a number of days.
Some 24 Britons are now confirmed to be among the 38 shot dead by student Seifeddine Rezgui, 23, at the beach resort of Sousse on Friday.
Among them are Scottish couples Billy and Lisa Graham, from Bankfoot in Perthshire, and Jim and Ann McQuire from Cumbernauld.
The British death toll is expected to rise to 30.
Rezgui was under the influence of drugs when he carried out the killings, according to reports.
A leaked post-mortem examination report revealed he had high levels of stimulant drugs in his system, The Sun said.
The paper quoted a National Guard officer who reportedly shot the gunman dead as saying: “He seemed to be under the effects of drugs. He was not afraid to die.”
All wounded Britons have been brought back to the UK, with four severely injured holidaymakers flown home in an RAF C17 transport plane accompanied by “medevac” teams.
They are being treated at hospitals in Birmingham, Oxford, Plymouth and London.
Among the four is Allison Heathcote, 48, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, who was celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary when she was gunned down.
She was shot repeatedly in her stomach and shoulder and was pictured shortly after the attack in her pink bikini lying immobile on a sun lounger as hotel staff tended to her wounds.
Her husband Philip, 52, was killed in the terror attack. She has undergone surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she is in a critical condition.
A single inquest covering all the British dead is to be opened by the West London coroner.
Tunisian authorities are questioning several suspected associates of Rezgui, who had links to the terror group Islamic State (IS).
They have said he acted alone during the rampage but had accomplices who supported him before, providing him with weapons and logistical support.
Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi said an investigation was under way into security failures and there would be armed tourist police on beaches.
A minute’s silence will be held in memory of the victims at noon on Friday, a week after the outrage.