Terrible blow for country's tour industry

This murder will have repercussions way beyond the sorrow of the family and friends of the couple.

Millions of Kenyans depend on tourism and this attack could be catastrophic for the industry.

One of its most valuable components is the upmarket beach resort - often appended to a safari in the Masai Mara, as had been booked by the Tebbutts.

Security at the resorts has been robust until now, with each community helping to keep tourists safe and thereby ensure employment. But this sea-borne raid could add an alarming new dimension to the imperfect business of risk management for travellers.

The Kiwayu Safari Village was outside the 18-mile "exclusion zone" from the Somali border that the Foreign Office imposes, and it prides itself on its security - but evidently it was vulnerable to a group of armed men intent on abducting a tourist.

It remains to be seen whether this crime was economically or politically motivated - there is an al Qaeda cell across the border in Somalia.

The last significant attack was nine years ago in Mombasa, when suicide bombers attacked a hotel popular with Israelis, killing 15 people, and an attempt was made to shoot down an Israeli aircraft.

The Foreign Office has stopped well short of advising against travel - and it remains the case that crime is far more prevalent than terrorism.

Richard Trillo, author of the Rough Guide to Kenya, speaking as he was about to fly to Africa, said he was "deeply shocked" but anyone planning to go to Kenya should go ahead with their trip. More pragmatically, anyone who does cancel because of this tragedy is unlikely to get a refund.