FLAGS on government buildings across Scotland flew at half mast yesterday as the nation paid its respects to the victims of the Tunisian beach attack.

A minute’s silence will take place this Friday, a week after the massacre at a seaside resort just north of the town of Sousse.

Yesterday it emerged that suspected associates of the gunman had been arrested.

A total of 38 people, including up to 30 Britons, were killed and dozens were injured by Islamic State-inspired assailant Seifeddine Rezgui, 23, who opened fire on sunbathers on the crowded beach before entering the Imperial Marhaba Hotel, where he continued to shoot and kill. The attack is said to have lasted almost half a hour.

Tourists returning to Scotland on a flight from Tunisia yesterday said they were glad to be home, but felt sorry for resort staff.

Many of those arriving at Glasgow Airport had opted to end their breaks early and take the specially chartered Thomson flight that landed at 6.10am.

Aamer Saeed, 37, from Glasgow’s west end, was meant to be on holiday with his children, aged eight and 12, for another week.

“The kids were really scared and they didn’t want to stay any longer,” he said. “There was nothing you could do anyway, you just had to stay in [the hotel].

“I feel sorry for the people there, it’s not their fault. But it was frightening. We just stayed in the hotel, everything was cancelled.”

Natalie Martin from Falkirk said she was glad to be back home. “The guys in the hotel tried to keep it upbeat for the families there but it was hard,” she said. “Most of the hotel [guests] came back early.”

Seventeen British fatalities have been confirmed, but the process to identify victims has been slow as many were on the beach in swimwear and were not carrying any documents.

Three Irish people died, and other victims came from Tunisia, Germany, Belgium and Ukraine.

Rezgui was shot dead by the Tunisian security forces as he walked along a road by the hotel.

It was Tunisia’s worst terrorist attack and the biggest affecting Britons since the London 7/7 bombings that killed 52 people. It came just three months after two gunmen killed 21 tourists at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, shooting Japanese, French and Spanish visitors as they arrived by bus.

Yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired a third Scottish Government resilience meeting. She said everything possible was being done to support those affected and their families.

“The situation in Sousse is highly complex due to the scale of the attack, the number of people killed and the fact that the victims come from different countries,” she said.

“The threat level for the UK remains at severe and counter-terrorism measures are in place to respond to this. The advice from Police Scotland is to stay vigilant and alert.”

Jim and Ann McQuire, from Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, were killed in the attack, while Holly Graham, from Perth, has said she is concerned about her parents, Billy and Lisa, who were staying at one of the hotels attacked in Sousse.

The McQuires, who were in their sixties, were both members of Abronhill Parish Church.

Revered Joyce Keyes, the church’s minister, said: “I don’t think I can make sense of it at all. It’s people you know. I would say the feeling, mainly, is a feeling of numbness.”

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Dr Angus Morrison, said: “Our minds are numb as we try to come to terms with an evil of such magnitude.

The human cost of this atrocity has been brought close to us in Scotland with news of the killing of Jim and Ann McQuire of Cumbernauld, who were both deeply involved in the life of the church. Jim was a captain in the Boys’ Brigade.”

Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday visited Sousse, where she lay flowers at the scene, describing the atrocity was “a despicable act of cruelty”.

Four people needing treatment were yesterday flown back to the UK on board an RAF C17 plane with medevac teams experienced at bringing injured service personnel back from operations overseas. Security was also stepped up for the start of Wimbledon yesterday.

Over the weekend, questions were raised as why there had been no warning to tourists, with a Sunday newspaper reporting that diplomats and intelligence sources had told the paper they had been warned of an impending attack in the country.

Last night a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said security was stepped up round embassies in Tunis and diplomats were warned to stay away from places with many foreigners such as supermarkets and popular restaurants following protests in the country about petrol exports.