Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, was in Sousse supporting families immediately after the terror attack which claimed 30 British lives. Today he was in Birmingham to mark 10 years of grief and has shared his memories.Suzanne Richards, who lost three generations in the Sousse terror attack, addresses the 10 year memorial event alongside Middle East minister Hamish Falconer, in red tie, and Birmingham's Lord Mayor Councillor Zafar Iqbal.Suzanne Richards, who lost three generations in the Sousse terror attack, addresses the 10 year memorial event alongside Middle East minister Hamish Falconer, in red tie, and Birmingham’s Lord Mayor Councillor Zafar Iqbal.

It was a ‘moment of horror’ ten years ago that saw a family from the Black Country and others from the West Midlands killed in a brutal terror attack.

Ten years ago today, at 11.45am, 23-year-old Seifeddine Rezgui took a gun hidden in a parasol and opened fire on sunbathers in Sousse, Tunisia. He entered the Hotel Imperial Marhaba via the pool area, next turning to fire at people there.

The attack left 38 dead, most of them British. It is a moment that will never be forgotten by Middle East minister Hamish Falconer, who was among the foreign office rapid deployment team who raced to Sousse.

Today, June 26, on the tenth anniversary of the attack, Hamish was in Birmingham to stand alongside families to remember those lost, injured or changed forever as a result.

READ MORE: Mum’s ‘reason to carry on’ after son, brother and dad murdered in Tunisia terror attack

Alongside him at the memorial event at Cannon Hill Park was Suzanne Richards, who lost her father, brother and a son in the horrific assault, and other families and friends of the fallen.

Suzanne, from Wednesbury, earlier told BirminghamLive how she still struggled to accept that her dad, Patrick Evans, 78, brother Adrian Evans, 49, and 19-year-old son Joel Richards had all been snatched from her in moments. Her younger son Owen, now 26, survived.

Also killed were Sue Davey, from Tamworth, and her partner, Scott Chalkley, from Derbyshire.

Joel Richards (centre), his uncle Adrian Evans and his grandfather Charles 'Patrick' Evans who died in TunisiaJoel Richards (centre), his uncle Adrian Evans and his grandfather Charles ‘Patrick’ Evans who all died in Tunisia(Image: PA)

Suzanne has since received an MBE for her work with the Smile for Joel charity, founded in her son’s name.

She said of the ten year event: “Every anniversary is difficult, whether it was the first year or the tenth year, the build-up is always hard…it feels very strange to think it’s ten years. It still feels like yesterday.”

Also at today’s memorial event was Lord Mayor of Birmingham Cllr Zafar Iqbal.

In his own words: Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer remembers Sousse

“In 2015 I watched in horror from my desk in the Foreign Office as news came in of a horrific attack on a hotel in Sousse, Tunisia.

“A gunman opened fire near the Imperial Marhaba Hotel killing 38 people, 30 of them British. Many more were injured.

“A day later I was there in Sousse, as part of the Foreign Office’s ‘Rapid Deployment Team’. I still have the polo shirt I wore, with a big British flag on its arm.

“I spent the next few days doing what I could as part of that team to support the devastated Brits in Tunisia, many from Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

“From supporting people to get home to escorting grieving families, we were there to help British nationals impacted.

“I have never forgotten those days, the bullet holes in the grounds of the hotel and the bravery of those families.

“Today, exactly ten years later, I was humbled to stand next to those families and share in their tributes at a memorial event in Birmingham’s Cannon Hill Park, this time as the UK’s Minister covering the Middle East and North Africa, and as the Minister responsible for consular support to British nationals overseas.

Minister Hamish Falconer and Lord Mayor Cllr Iqbal at the memorial eventMinister Hamish Falconer and Lord Mayor Cllr Iqbal at the memorial event

“The Sousse and Bardo Memorial in Cannon Hill Park stands as a permanent reminder of those lives tragically cut short.

“Its ‘Infinite Wave’ design with 31 threads, each one representing a British life lost, a poignant reminder of the heartbreaking loss on that day and solidarity of the community in Birmingham in commemorating them.

“The families are as brave and dignified today as they were a decade ago. I was moved to hear from so many of them, including Suzanne Richards who has been a tireless travel safety campaigner since losing her father, brother, and son.

“The terrorists who struck in Sousse and Bardo sought to divide people. They failed, and this memorial today and remembrance has outlasted them.

“I’m sure few of those at the memorial will have remembered me as the man in a polo shirt and hi-vis jacket, but I have never forgotten them.

“Standing with them today in remembrance was a humbling reminder of their quiet strength and determination that their loved ones should never be forgotten.

“We will not be divided by craven, cowardly terror attacks like those in Sousse and Bardo. Our shared values of tolerance, freedom and compassion will always triumph over hatred and division.”