Government to fund memorial for Tunisia massacre victims

The Prime Minister said that a separate site of remembrance would be created for all British nationals killed in terrorist atrocities overseas.

Mr Cameron also announced that a special service would be held in the autumn dedicated to all those caught up in the attack on the Tunisian resort of Sousse which left 30 British holidaymakers dead - including three generations of a Black Country family.

Joel Richards, aged 19, his grandfather Patrick Evans, 78, both from Wednesbury and his uncle Adrian Evans, 49, who lived in Bilston, were killed in the terror attack. The three were devoted Walsall fans.

Joel's 16-year-old brother Owen survived the atrocity. He joined his mother Suzanne at a special service at Walsall's Banks's Stadium on Friday to honour his brother, uncle and grandfather during a one minute's silence.

The Prime Minister said: "Those who lost their lives in Tunisia last week were innocent victims of a brutal terrorist atrocity.

"It is right that we mark and commemorate them and others murdered by terrorists overseas appropriately and support the loved ones they have left behind in every way we can."

Both memorials will be paid for out of fines levied on the banks by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The announcement comes as the country prepares to mark the tenth anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings with a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial in Hyde Park and a national service of remembrance at St Paul's Cathedral.

Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood, who has been working with the families of the Tunisia attack victims, said that they would be consulted about the location and design of the memorial over the coming months.

"This memorial will be for the families, so we want to talk to them about our plans to determine what they feel is most appropriate," he said.

Mr Ellwood, whose brother Jonathan was killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, said the memorial could well be sited in the North as that was where most of the victims came from.

"Having been through a similar situation, I know how important it is that these families, who have been united by a single tragedy, have that marked in one place," he said.

"They will end up providing mutual support to each other, and to have this memorial to their loved ones will be very important. It is also right that the nation recognises the scale of this appalling event."

The minister, who has long campaigned for a single memorial to all victims of terrorism overseas, welcomed the announcement that it would now go ahead.

"Sadly, we live in very difficult and dangerous times. We have to recognise that there are many victims of terrorism who do not have a grave, whose families don't have a place where they can lay flowers and grieve in the normal way," he said.

"It is therefore appropriate that we have a national memorial for those caught up in terrorism abroad. These people must never be forgotten."