Relatives of “wholly innocent” Britons killed during a terrorist siege at an Algerian gas plant have told an inquest into their deaths of their “grief and anger”.
The six Britons and a UK-based Colombian were among 40 hostages who were killed by al Qaeda-linked Islamists during a four-day stand-off in January 2013 at the In Amenas complex.
Opening the inquest into their deaths at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Assistant Coroner for West Sussex Nicholas Hilliard QC said friends and family had been left “devastated and bereft”.
Judge Hilliard asked for silence as he read out the names of all 40 of the victims.
Carson Bilsland and Kenneth Whiteside, both from Scotland; Sebastian John, from the East Midlands; Stephen Green, from Hampshire; Paul Morgan and Garry Barlow, both from Liverpool, and Carlos Estrada, originally from Colombia but who lived in London, were killed while working at the BP-run plant.
Pictures of the victims were shown on a screen as family and friends told the inquest about their lives and the impact of their deaths.
The relatives of health and safety executive Mr Green, who was from Fleet in Hampshire and 47 when he was killed, said that their lives had been “turned upside down”.
His father David said: “Stephen’s death has been very hard for us. He had a lot of happiness to look forward to.
“I feel both grief and anger – grief that my son was refused a happy future and anger against those responsible. They are not forgiven or understood.”
Judge Hilliard told the inquest: “Each was wholly innocent of events which unfolded when a group of heavily armed went into the In Amenas gas facility.
“Forty innocent people lost their lives, such was the scale of events.
“Each and every death is a wholly separate tragedy and leaves family and friends devastated and bereft.”
Mr Green said the family felt the pain of his music fan son’s death every day, adding: “It does not diminish with time.
“Stephen gave love and he is loved across the world, from Ireland to Kazakhstan. He is always remembered and loved forever.”
Speaking without any notes, Mr Green added that his family wanted “truth and justice” from the inquest.
Mr Bilsland’s younger brother Christopher said the inspection engineer had criticised security at the In Amenas facility in the month before his death.
The court heard Carson Bilsland, who was 46 and living in Perthshire when he was killed, wrote: “The job is fine but security is not good and not safe compared to other places I’ve worked.”
Mr Bilsland said that in his opinion “monetary gain had been valued over human life”.
“We want to know if In Amenas could have been prevented and if the necessary steps were in place,” he added.
Nicola John described her civil engineer husband Sebastian, who was 26 and living in Nottingham when he died, as a “lovely, friendly man who was clearly very intelligent”.
She said she wanted to understand “as clearly as possible how and in what circumstances” her husband had died so that she can tell the couple’s young son when he grows up.
Contractor Mr Barlow’s wife Lorraine said the attack on In Amenas had started during his 50th birthday on January 16 2013.
She said she was “tortured by the circumstances” of the staunch Everton fan’s death and “haunted” by a phone call that she received from him shortly before he was killed.
“I need to understand why this happened to such a wonderful man,” she added.
Mr Estrada’s wife, Claudia Gaviria, also said she wanted answers on the 59-year-old BP executive’s death so she could tell their two young daughters.
The court heard that Mr Estrada, who lived in Chelsea, west London, was a trained geophysicist who had risen to become a vice-president at BP.
Emma Steele, the partner of security advisor Mr Morgan, said he was her “best friend and my love”.
She said the couple had looked forward to a long life together before he was killed. “I think of all the things we enjoyed together, now I face living life without him,” she added.
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