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Manchester Arena blast : 22 dead and several dozens injured

Varun said:
Why is it awkward when some guy from another continent did the damage? That takes some doing.
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Try asking Uncle Jatinder Singh next time he get's a volley of abuse from someone on his way home from the Dog and Duck in Barking.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Try asking Uncle Jatinder Singh next time he get's a volley of abuse from someone on his way home from the Dog and Duck in Barking.
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Somebody should begin a 'Whataboutism Collection Vol. 1' thread and stuff all your posts in there.
 
Yossarian said:
IRA
1974 Birmigham pub bombings
21 killed and 182 injured.

1972 Aldeshot bombing
7 killed

1972 Bloody Friday
9 killed 130 injured

1987 Enniskillen
11 killed 63 injured.

Above are just a few examples.

During the NI troubles, there were 3,568 deaths, of which 1,879 were civilian deaths caused by both sides in the conflict.

You need to read up on history a bit.
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that was a major conflict with many civilian deaths on both sides, IRA's modus operandi still wasn't to target civilians. also, they just weren't 'catholic terrorists' which is perhaps more to the point, they were terrorists who happened to be catholic.
 
majiz said:
that was a major conflict with many civilian deaths on both sides, IRA's modus operandi still wasn't to target civilians. also, they just weren't 'catholic terrorists' which is perhaps more to the point, they were terrorists who happened to be catholic.
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Like all terrorist groups, they had offshoots such as the real IRA, Omagh was only to target civilians.
 
majiz said:
that was a major conflict with many civilian deaths on both sides, IRA's modus operandi still wasn't to target civilians. also, they just weren't 'catholic terrorists' which is perhaps more to the point, they were terrorists who happened to be catholic.
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...er no. Do you know anything about the history of Ireland and why Northern Ireland was separated from the rest of Ireland, and the aim of the IRA?
 
Shocking failure

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FBI 'warned MI5 in January that the Manchester bomber was planning an attack on Britain' <a href="https://t.co/QDC4F2gVK2">https://t.co/QDC4F2gVK2</a></p>— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyMailUK/status/868733340005916673">28 May 2017</a></blockquote>
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s28 said:
Shocking failure

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FBI 'warned MI5 in January that the Manchester bomber was planning an attack on Britain' <a href="https://t.co/QDC4F2gVK2">https://t.co/QDC4F2gVK2</a></p>— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyMailUK/status/868733340005916673">28 May 2017</a></blockquote>
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It starts looking bad when you combine the FBI's warning with the local mosque's multiple warnings.

Not to mention his traveling.

But still it's hard on these agencies.

They receive countless warnings and do thwart many potential attacks.
 
3 Warnings THREE!!!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">British intelligence received at least three warnings about Salman Abedi, but decided he posed no threat <a href="https://t.co/AWPVOMRXmC">https://t.co/AWPVOMRXmC</a> <a href="https://t.co/CrfLfRfFwt">pic.twitter.com/CrfLfRfFwt</a></p>— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimesworld/status/869380863557079040">30 May 2017</a></blockquote>
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kingusama92 said:
It starts looking bad when you combine the FBI's warning with the local mosque's multiple warnings.

Not to mention his traveling.

But still it's hard on these agencies.

They receive countless warnings and do thwart many potential attacks.
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They were also not helped by the cuts to the police force:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-warned-manchester-police-officer-10497970

And that was a year ago, an officer from Manchester itself raised these concerns to our current PM !
Insp O'Reilly, who left community policing in 2012, warned that swingeing cuts to Greater Manchester Police’s funding were "cutting away at the muscle" of the force and said savings were leaving officers feeling "undervalued".

"I have worked in inner city Manchester for 15 years," Insp O'Reilly told Mrs May at a Police Federation conference in 2015.

"I felt passionate about what I was doing but in 2010 I had to leave. I couldn't take it any more because the changes that have been imposed have caused community policing to collapse.

"Intelligence has dried up. There aren't local officers, they don't know what's happening. They're all reactive, there's no proactive policing locally. That is the reality ma'am."

He added: "Neighbourhood policing is critical to dealing with terrorism. We run the risk here of letting communities down, putting officers at risk and ultimately risking national security and I would ask you to seriously consider the budget and the level of cuts over the next five years.”
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Junaids said:
What do you think the 1987 Enniskillen bombing was?

More to the point, the miscarriages of justice which happened to the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six were both for pub bombings.

I was woken up by the 1974 M62 bombing in my bed in Gomersal.

I'm the first to agree that IS are monsters who target innocent people. But while I've plenty of time for the likes of Bobby Sands, the IRA often targeted civilians.

Not children, but civilians.

Also the IRA and Sinn Fein are not simple nationalist movements, which is why they are almost universally despised in the Republic of Ireland. The name Sinn Fein symbolised liberation a century ago in Dublin, but now is associated with terrorism and gangsterism.
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Not true anymore. While government parties constantly bring up the past the average voter is sick of it and wants to move on. SF have rebranded quite successfully as a young and modern republican party, very active on social media hence why north and south they've just obtained their most successful ever election results
 
British Government and Media are complicit in covering this up

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">3 massive stories on links between UK terror & Saudi/Libya which, re Manchester, would bring down the govt if reported properly by media. <a href="https://t.co/cYwFJINHYe">pic.twitter.com/cYwFJINHYe</a></p>— Mark Curtis (@markcurtis30) <a href="https://twitter.com/markcurtis30/status/870329595052130309">1 June 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two Mancunian teens went to Libya. One joined ISIS, the other joined the fight against them. Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/sommervillebbc">@SommervilleBBC</a>'s report from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bbcnewsten?src=hash">#bbcnewsten</a> <a href="https://t.co/rRU3qUIolT">pic.twitter.com/rRU3qUIolT</a></p>— Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) <a href="https://twitter.com/juliamacfarlane/status/870216453726900224">1 June 2017</a></blockquote>
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s28 said:
British Government and Media are complicit in covering this up

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">3 massive stories on links between UK terror & Saudi/Libya which, re Manchester, would bring down the govt if reported properly by media. <a href="https://t.co/cYwFJINHYe">pic.twitter.com/cYwFJINHYe</a></p>— Mark Curtis (@markcurtis30) <a href="https://twitter.com/markcurtis30/status/870329595052130309">1 June 2017</a></blockquote>
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What is this ?

" Guardian " blackmailing UK government ?

Who stops them from exposing terror funding ? MI-5 ?
 
Yossarian said:
...er no. Do you know anything about the history of Ireland and why Northern Ireland was separated from the rest of Ireland, and the aim of the IRA?
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yes of course, they were waging a war over statehood, religious links are there indeed but tenuous
 
The same people who make a lot of noise about Corbyn's links to the IRA, Hamas etc are very quiet when it comes to Theresa May and her government's links to jihadis in Libya, Syria etc not to mention our relations with terrorist sponsors like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
 
spot on

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Says person who refuses to release secret government report on terrorist funding in the U.K.:<a href="https://t.co/lQpCRKs81l">https://t.co/lQpCRKs81l</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ax1EJmoRfA">https://t.co/Ax1EJmoRfA</a></p>— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/871320576056377344">4 June 2017</a></blockquote>
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majiz said:
yes of course, they were waging a war over statehood, religious links are there indeed but tenuous
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Religion was absolutely critical to that conflict ever since Cromwell imported Scottish Protestants to NI and gave them the Catholics' land. Ireland was a threat to Britain because it was Catholic and could have been used as a base by France and Spain. Catholics were systematically discriminated against and the RUC had a Catholic ban.
 
Robert said:
Religion was absolutely critical to that conflict ever since Cromwell imported Scottish Protestants to NI and gave them the Catholics' land. Ireland was a threat to Britain because it was Catholic and could have been used as a base by France and Spain. Catholics were systematically discriminated against and the RUC had a Catholic ban.
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yeah there was a religious divide present there but still, they were fighting over land. it wasn't some kind of religious war. at least not when the IRA was involved (you speak more of its origins)
 
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In Manchester now, London today and always in our country: We stand together & united against those who seek to divide us <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneLoveManchester?src=hash">#OneLoveManchester</a> <a href="https://t.co/HMmb5D8l9b">pic.twitter.com/HMmb5D8l9b</a></p>— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/871464435810017282">4 June 2017</a></blockquote>
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actor.jpg
[MENTION=107620]s28[/MENTION] is this the same bloke? Must be photo shopped, can't be in so many places all the time?
 
A homeless "common thief" who stole from victims of the Manchester Arena bombing has been jailed.

Chris Parker claimed to have helped some of those injured in the attack and was initially hailed a hero, with more than £50,000 being raised by the public to help the rough sleeper.

But CCTV recovered by police showed him wandering the foyer of the arena amid the dying and injured, stealing from victims.

The 33-year-old admitted at a hearing at Manchester Crown Court last month to stealing a purse and a mobile phone from two victims.

On Tuesday he was jailed at the same court for four years and three months for two counts of theft and one count of fraud.

Judge David Hernandez told Parker: "You were not the hero you pretended to be, you were just a common thief.

"It is hard to contemplate a more reprehensible set of circumstances."

Salman Abedi's suicide bombing killed 22 people and left scores injured on May 22 last year.

Parker was caught on camera leaning over the body of injured survivor Pauline Healey to steal her purse as her 14-year-old granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski lay dying nearby.

He also snatched the mobile phone of a teenager and within hours was using Mrs Healey's bank cards at a local McDonald's.

Prosecutors said the defendant provided "some limited assistance" but that he also took the opportunity to commit the thefts immediately after the atrocity.

He will not receive the money raised for him through the public appeal on GoFundMe. It will instead go back to the donors.

Following sentencing, Supt Chris Hill from Greater Manchester Police, said: "No matter what personal circumstances you might find yourself in, to steal from injured and terrified innocent people is deplorable.

"Parker exploited these people when they were at their most vulnerable and needed the help of those around them.

"I cannot begin to imagine what they have been through and I want to thank them for their courage."

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/common-thief-who-stole-ariana-14221885
 
Manchester attack: Hundreds gather to remember victims

An emotional memorial service marking the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack has been held.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds injured when a bomb was detonated at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

Prince William and Prime Minister Theresa May joined families of victims at the Manchester Cathedral service.

The Dean of Manchester said it was for "those whose lives were lost and those whose lives have been changed forever".

It was broadcast to the crowds outside in Cathedral Gardens on a giant screen.

Welcoming people to the service, the Very Reverend Rogers Govender said they had "come together as people of different faiths and none" to remember those affected by the attack.

He was followed by short addresses from a number of faith leaders, including Nidhi Sinha, Rabbi Warren Elf, Imam Irfan Chishti and Sukhbir Singh, and from humanist Dr Kevin Malone.

It also saw a bible reading from the Duke of Cambridge and performances from the Manchester Cathedral Choir and the Halle Youth Choir, who sang a rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

The service, which had been relayed live to screens in Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, York Minster and Glasgow Cathedral, closed with a blessing from the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

After leaving the cathedral, Prince William, Mrs May and other political leaders, including Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, left messages on the "Trees of Hope" - a trail of trees which are being adorned with special tags for the anniversary.

Hundreds gathered in Cathedral Gardens to watch the service and those present spoke of love, not hate.

Two women hugged each other for support as two giant silver 22 balloons fluttered above them in the wind, while a teenage girl sobbed as photos of the victims were shown on a giant screen.

Tears rolled down a man's face behind his sunglasses, as he struggled to control his emotions.

And as the Dean of Manchester announced the minute's silence, the whole crowd rose as one.

Police officers, firefighters, teens in Ariana Grande T-shirts and pensioners bowed their heads together and two men dressed in bee costumes stood next to a man waving an anti-IS banner.

Just as it was a year ago, this was a city united.

The day of remembrance also included a national minute's silence at 14:30 BST and a mass sing-along in the city.

Ariana Grande, who recently called the attack "the worst of humanity", tweeted that she was "thinking of you all".

The singer, who headlined the One Love concert in Manchester less than two weeks after the terror attack, said on Twitter: "I love you with all of me and am sending you all of the light and warmth I have to offer on this challenging day."

Rhiannon Graves, from Hull, was at the star's concert when the attack happened.

Joining the throng outside the cathedral, the 17-year-old said she "had to be here to show love and solidarity".

"I had just left the concert arena when it went off - I'll never forget it."

Her friend Lois Beaumont, 18, was also there and said she thought about it "every day".

"I wanted to come to show my respects for those who didn't make it or who were injured."

A multi-faith group holding banners reading "Manchester City United" and "Total Love" were met with applause by those outside the cathedral.

Mohammed Khan, 66, said the group "wanted to show solidarity with the victims".

"We shall not be disunited. This attack was evil."

Before the service, people who were caught up in what happened on the night have been sharing their reaction to the anniversary.

Adam Lawler went to the concert with his friend Olivia Campbell-Hardy, who died in the suicide bombing.

The 16-year-old was hit by shrapnel and said he "broke both my legs, lost seven teeth [and] nearly lost my right eye".

"I regained vision in it, thanks to the amazing doctors. I nearly lost my tongue," he said.

"If I could go back in time, I would change everything. But I can't, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to try and live my best life.

"We won't be beaten because we're Manchester."

Dan Hett, whose brother Martyn died in the attack, told the BBC the support he had received had been "overwhelming".

He said he had been picked up off his feet and hugged by everyone from an "old lady in a supermarket to a six-foot biker".

Speaking before the memorial service, he said it illustrated the support which "has come from every possible corner of Manchester".

He also tweeted a photograph of him with his brother, which has been trending on social media, along with the hashtag #BeMoreMartyn.

Ella McGovern, from Rossendale in Lancashire, suffered shrapnel wounds to her legs in the blast.

The 15-year-old has since climbed Ben Nevis and completed a 10k run.

Her mother Louise McGovern said the anniversary would be "extremely emotional".

"I'm looking forward to being with everyone in Manchester - I think that will be very nice and positive - but I think I'm going to pack a few tissues."

Cath Hill, who is in Manchester Survivors' Choir, a group made up of people who were at the arena on the night of the concert, said while they had "been through something really difficult... we do want to stand up and rise up and show everybody that we are carrying on".

Daren Buckley's life changed forever when the home-made device detonated metres away where he and his son were standing.

Yet the father of four's first instinct was not to flee, but to run to help the wounded.

He said: "The scenes in the foyer I can't describe. It was like a nightmare."

A year later he remains traumatised, saying: "I have flashbacks. I must've died 200 times in my nightmares."

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham tweeted his support for everyone affected by the explosion.

"Today we come together, we remember each of the 22 people whose lives were taken," he wrote.

Dan Smith, the second paramedic to arrive at the scene of the attack, said it would be a "difficult day [as] this date will never be the same again".

He said he did not want to dwell on the "devastation", but focus on the "positives" from the night, the lives that were saved and the amazing response from Manchester and beyond.

In a statement on Facebook issued ahead of her attending the service, Mrs May said the attack had been "designed to strike at the heart of our values and our way of life, in one of our most vibrant cities, with the aim of breaking our resolve and dividing us. It failed".

"As we gather in Manchester Cathedral... we will join in solidarity to remember the 22 children and adults who so tragically lost their lives that night.

"We will pause to think of their friends and family, of the many who were injured and to pay tribute to those who have come to their aid, offered support, expertise and kindness."

Shadow home secretary Dianne Abbot and Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas also tweeted tributes.

Manchester United stars Ashley Young and Jesse Lingard were among the city's sports stars sharing their thoughts.

Celebrities have also paid tribute to the victims of the attack on social media.

Manchester-born actress and Strictly Come Dancing star Gemma Atkinson posted a picture on Instagram of the Manchester bee symbol, which became an image of defiance and solidarity in the aftermath of the attack, while stars of the Manchester-based soap Coronation Street, including Lucy Fallon and Daniel Brocklebank, also paid tribute.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44197949
 
The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber was "just as guilty" of the murder of the 22 people who died in the attack, his trial has heard.

Salman Abedi detonated a "large home-made improvised explosive device" outside an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

His brother Hashem Abedi is standing trial at the Old Bailey over his "role in perpetrating these terrible events".

He denies the murder of 22 people and the attempted murder of others.

Duncan Penny QC said the siblings spent "months" planning the attack.

Hashem, 22, has also denied conspiring with his brother to cause an explosion.

Mr Penny said the effects of the attack had been "both sudden and lethal" and police had identified "nearly 1,000 victims".

In addition to the 22 people, including seven children, who died, a total of 264 "were physically injured", he said, while 670 more had since "reported psychological trauma as a result of these events".

Mr Penny said the explosion was the "culmination of months of planning and preparation by the two of them".

The brothers worked together in the run-up to the attack, he said, sourcing chemicals and experimenting with metal containers to create improvised bombs, and purchasing screws and nails to use as "anti-personnel shrapnel".

He said they had also obtained an address in north Manchester where they could create the bomb and bought a Nissan Micra car to use as a "de-facto storage facility".

He said the resulting device was "packed with lethal shrapnel and detonated in the middle of a crowd in a very public area - the intention being to kill and to inflict maximum damage".

'Shared goal'
The court was told the Manchester-born brothers had lived alone in the family home in Fallowfield, about four miles south of the city centre, since 2016, when their parents returned to Libya.

Mr Penny said they had shown "some signs of radicalisation" in the years before the bombing - "Salman more so than Hashem".

They had changed in appearance, becoming more religious and devout, talking about the conflict in Libya and expressing support for the group calling itself Islamic State.

The court heard Hashem had worked in a takeaway at the time and had asked if he could take home used vegetable oil cans to sell for scrap, which Mr Penny described as a "cover story".

A part of one of the cans was found at the scene of the attack.

Mr Penny said the brothers had not had a specific target and the final destination had been chosen by Salman Abedi alone, but they had a "shared goal [to] kill, main and injure as many people as possible".

As a result, "the law is that Hashem Abedi is just as responsible for this atrocity… as surely as if he had selected the target and detonated the bomb himself," the prosecutor said.

Jurors were shown a map of the city with locations such as Manchester Arena, the Arndale Centre and Victoria Station identified.

Mr Penny said the arena was "one of the busiest and one of the largest" in Europe and had been filled with the American singer's "large and diverse fan base" on the night of the attack.

He said the foyer outside it was "busy and heavily congested with people" as the crowd left the venue at about 22:30 BST and in their "midst… carrying a heavy rucksack that contained a homemade bomb… was Salman Abedi".

He added that such was the "ferocity of the explosion" that it "dismembered" the bomber and left a scene "of destruction and chaos".

The trial continues.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-51371530
 
An email address meaning "we have come to slaughter" in Arabic and linked to the Manchester bomber's brother was used to buy chemicals before the attack, a court has heard.

Scraps of paper with bedab7jeana@gmail.com on were found in the bin at the home of Salman and Hashem Abedi, the Old Bailey was told.

The attack which happened after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena killed 22 people in May 2017.

Hashem Abedi, the younger brother of the terrorist who blew himself up, is accused of plotting the mass murder with his brother. The sibling was extradited from Libya in July 2019.

Prosecutors said the email address was created two months before the attack.

"After the explosion, the same email address was found on handwritten torn-up pieces of paper in one of the bins at the Elsmore Road address," said Duncan Penny QC.

"Translated [in Arabic], 'bedabjeana' means 'To slaughter we have come', or 'We have come to slaughter'", said Mr Penny.

The court heard the email was registered while on public wifi in the Hulme Market area of Manchester on 20 March.

A number plate camera placed a Toyota Aygo bought by Hashem Abedi at the scene, the court heard.

Mr Penny said the "slaughter" email address was used to buy 30 litres of hydrogen peroxide - one of three ingredients for the homemade explosives - on Amazon on 3 April 2017.

Hashem Abedi had previously asked friends and acquaintances for help buying the chemicals, the court heard.

Prosecutors said the previous month police had stopped Hashem's friend, Mohammed Younis Soliman, at Manchester Airport.

They downloaded data from his phone, which linked the purchase of 10 litres of sulphuric acid with the Abedis.

But the Old Bailey heard the connection was only made when the data was analysed after the attack.

The jury was also told that buying chemicals in such quantities could raise "awkward questions" so the brothers had organised delivery to an unoccupied house in Rusholme, south Manchester.

The occupant of the house, a man of Libyan background, was not in the country and a fellow Libyan looked after the property.

He handed the keys over after the brothers claimed they had visitors at their own home, the jury were told.

They also heard that the brothers visited a B&Q in Stockport in March and used their mother's card to buy alleged bomb-making tools including a hammer, hacksaw, metal cutters and pliers.

Hashem Abedi denies the murder of 22 men, women and children. The victims were aged between eight and 51.

He also denies attempted murder and conspiring to cause explosions.

The trial continues and is expected to last eight weeks.
https://news.sky.com/story/come-to-...anchester-bombers-brother-court-told-11927704
 
The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber says he would have told his mother had he known of the terror plot.

Hashem Abedi was "shocked" when his older sibling Salman set off a device in May 2017, killing 22 people as they left an Ariana Grande concert, the Old Bailey heard.

He "felt bad for everybody" and did not think his brother "had it in him".

Hashem, who was arrested in Libya the day after the atrocity, denies murder, attempted murder and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

But the former electrical installation student has accepted he asked various individuals to buy sulphuric acid - a key ingredient for explosives - on behalf of his brother, who told him that "companies have a maximum limit they can sell".

After declining to answer detectives' questions, Hashem made a statement instead, which was read to the court by prosecutor Duncan Penny QC.

He said: "I deny any involvement in the terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017. I was not involved in the instigation, preparation or commission of it.

"Had I had any idea of it I would have reported it to my mother initially and then to other family members to prevent it from happening.

"I was shocked my brother had done this and felt bad for everybody. I could never have envisaged that my brother had it in him to do this to innocent people."

Hashem has described himself as a practising Muslim who does not hold extremist views and does not support Islamic State.

He was "held in Libya by the militia and subjected to torture", he said.

The court heard previously that the brothers allegedly used an empty house to take delivery of chemicals ordered on Amazon using others' bank details and fake emails.

On Friday, jurors were also taken through Salman Abedi's final movements on Friday, including the seconds before he detonated the bomb.

The trial, which is expected to last eight weeks, continues.

https://news.sky.com/story/hashem-a...ave-told-mother-had-he-known-of-plot-11928603
 
Hashem Abedi: Brother of Manchester Arena bomber guilty of 22 counts of murder

The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been found guilty of 22 charges of murder.

Hashem Abedi, 22, conspired with his brother Salman Abedi, who killed himself and 22 others when he detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

Up to a thousand other people were either physically injured or suffered mental trauma as a result of the explosion.

The trial at the Old Bailey in London had heard that even though Hashem Abedi wasn't in the UK at the time of the explosion, his DNA and fingerprints were found in the properties in Manchester where they both made the bomb.

The younger brother had denied the charges and, in an earlier statement to Greater Manchester Police, had tried to distance himself from his brother's atrocity.

But evidence presented in court showed how he was involved in the research, experimentation and making the explosives, before returning to Libya a month before the attack.

Prosecutors said he was "just as guilty" as his brother.

In court, he offered no evidence in his defence and fired his legal team in the closing stages of the trial.

Martin Hibbert, one of the survivors of the attack who was just metres from the bomb, told Sky News: "From the day that I woke up and was told I was never going to walk again I have just been very positive.

"These people want to change the way we sit and talk today.

"What they don't want me to do is sit here with a smile on my face, living life to the full, that will hurt them more than me wanting revenge or being angry about it."

He added: "It's not just about putting his brother in prison and everyone can kind of smile and go home. I think we need to look closer to home as well.

"I think there's probably a few other people that need to be in the dock as well."

Max Hill, the CPS director of public prosecutions, told Sky News that prosecutors and police looked at "every movement these men made".

"The cars that they used, the telephones that they swapped, the places that they lived, the shopping trips that they went on themselves, or asked others, who didn't know their plans, to go on for them, all of those circumstances built up into an unanswerable case," he said.

"That this was a two-man job. These men planned it together and obviously, tragically, it only took one man to blow up the device and kill so many people."

He added: "This was a long investigation, it required extradition for the first time from Libya to this country. And speaking for everyone in the CPS and every GMP officer who was involved we were all determined to give a sense of justice to all of those families who suffered in May 2017."

The public inquiry into the bombing is due to start later this year.

Hashem Abedi will be sentenced at a later date.

https://news.sky.com/story/hashem-a...bomber-guilty-of-22-counts-of-murder-11958187
 
The brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi is refusing to attend court to be sentenced, a judge has said.

Hashem Abedi, now 23, was found guilty of 22 charges of murder, several more of attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion to endanger life on 17 March.

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But the judge due to sentence him at the Old Bailey in London today said he has "been brought to the building" but "has refused to come to the courtroom".

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said: "The court is prohibited from proceeding if the defendant is absent from court, unless the defendant has waived his right to attend".

He added that "force cannot be used", and that the matter now lies with the Probation Service.

Families of the 22 victims were present and informed of his refusal to attend, with survivors and other relatives due to follow the hearing by video link from Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow.

During Abedi's trial at the same court, jurors heard the Islamic State-inspired jihadist helped his older brother order, store and collect materials for the attack on the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.

While his brother blew himself up, Hashem travelled to Libya before the explosion happened, but was arrested and extradited back to Britain to face trial.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny QC told jurors Hashem was "just as guilty" as the bomber who killed the men, women and children aged between eight and 51.

He was found guilty after five hours of deliberations on 17 March - just days before all trials in England and Wales were halted due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Hashem initially told police he wanted to cooperate with them in order to prove his innocence, but he later sacked his legal team and waived his right to attend most of the court case - staying in his prison cell instead.

It meant grieving families and survivors did not hear from the man police believe may have actually masterminded the plot.

He was offered legal representation for this week's two-day sentencing hearing, but declined, according to court documents.

A letter from the solicitors who offered to help him read: "Mr Abedi made it clear to us that firstly he will not be attending the sentencing either in person or remotely, and secondly he doesn't wish to be represented by us or any other firm of solicitors."

The judge added: "He has had every opportunity and has been encouraged to have legal representation.

"But he has made it clear and I am satisfied that he does not wish to be present at this hearing."

Mr Justice Baker previously confirmed that Hashem cannot be handed a whole life sentence because he was under the age of 21 at the time of the offences.

But he could be given multiple life sentences with a minimum term of 30 years, he said.

Speaking ahead of the sentencing, Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett, 29, was among the victims, said: "I trust the British legal system. Whatever the judge gives this person will be just punishment for a crime he committed."

A public inquiry into the bombing is scheduled to start next month.

https://news.sky.com/story/hashem-a...s-to-attend-courtroom-for-sentencing-12052348
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Breaking: The Manchester Arena bomber’s brother has been jailed for life for his part in the terror attack<br><br>Hashem Abedi was given a minimum term of 55 years because the law would not allow a whole-life order due to his age<a href="https://t.co/K9x3Ev2k6J">https://t.co/K9x3Ev2k6J</a></p>— Lizzie Dearden (@lizziedearden) <a href="https://twitter.com/lizziedearden/status/1296415422183505921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
The brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi has been sentenced to at least 55 years in prison for his part in the atrocity.

There were audible gasps in court as Mr Justice Baker jailed Hashem Abedi for life on each of the 22 counts of murder he was convicted of over the 2017 attack.

"The defendant should clearly understand the minimum term he should serve is 55 years. He may never be released," he told the Old Bailey.

Hashem again refused to come up from his cell to be in courtroom two as the judge passed sentence, with the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police accusing him of showing "contempt" to the families of those who died.

Ian Hopkins described the brothers as "cowardly" and "calculating murderers" who tried to divide society.

Twenty-two people were killed when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the venue.

He died in the attack, while hundreds of others were injured.

In March, 23-year-old Hashem was found guilty by a jury of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.

He helped source, buy, stockpile and transport the components for his brother's bomb, the court heard, using a number of phones, vehicles and addresses in preparation for the attack.

The last picture of Salman Abedi, moments before the bomb went off

Abedi, who was born and raised in Manchester, went to Libya the month before the bombing and was arrested hours after the attack and extradited back to Britain last summer, telling police he wanted to cooperate.

"Although Salman Abedi was directly responsible, it was clear the defendant took an integral part in the planning," the judge said.

He added: "The motivation for them was to advance the ideology of Islamism, a matter distinct to and abhorrent to the vast majority for those who follow the Islamic faith.

"The defendant and his brother were equally culpable for the deaths and injuries caused.

"The stark reality is that these were atrocious crimes, large in their scale, deadly in their intent, and appalling in their consequences.

"The despair and desolation of the bereaved families has been palpable."

Heartbroken parents of some of the victims of the attack broke down in court on Wednesday as they recalled the moment they discovered their loved ones had died.

Lisa Rutherford, the mother of Chloe Rutherford, 17, said her "heart snapped" when she received a phone call with the news about her daughter.

Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Figen Murray, mother of 29-year-old victim Martyn Hett, told Sky News: "We are the ones with the life sentence."

She added: "For me personally, I know it's a long sentence, but it's just a number. To me, the sentence is totally irrelevant.

"My energy really is better suited to being directed to all the families that were in there alongside us."

The family of 32-year-old Kelly Brewster said: "His sentence will never compare to the sentence we have to live for the rest of our lives without Kelly.

"One day he will be free but we will forever be broken."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the attack was a "horrifying and cowardly act of violence which targeted children and families".

"Those who were taken from us will never be forgotten, nor will the spirit of the people of Manchester who came together to send a clear message to the entire world that terrorists will never prevail," he said.

Mr Johnson added: "Today's sentencing is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tolerance, community and kindness - values which are fundamental to our country, and which we saw in Manchester in the face of unimaginable tragedy."

The 22 people who were killed were: off-duty police officer Elaine McIver, 43, Saffie Roussos, eight, Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, Nell Jones, 14, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, Megan Hurley, 15, Georgina Callander, 18, Chloe Rutherford, 17, Liam Curry, 19, Courtney Boyle, 19, Philip Tron, 32, John Atkinson, 28, Martyn Hett, 29, Kelly Brewster, 32, Angelika Klis, 39, Marcin Klis, 42, Michelle Kiss, 45, Alison Howe, 44, Lisa Lees, 43, Wendy Fawell, 50, and Jane Tweddle, 51.

A public inquiry into the attack is set to begin next month.

https://news.sky.com/story/hashem-a...enced-to-at-least-55-years-in-prison-12052927
 
Almost three and a half years after the Manchester Arena bombing, an inquiry is due to start examining whether the atrocity could have been prevented.

Twenty-two people were killed at the Ariana Grande concert in May 2017 after Salman Abedi detonated a homemade bomb as the gig drew to a close. Abedi also died in the blast.

Just three weeks ago, his brother Hashem Abedi was given a minimum jail term of 55-years after a jury decided he had built the bomb with his sibling in Manchester.

The inquiry - which begins on Monday - will analyse what the security services knew about the brothers and whether mistakes were made in the monitoring of their activities.

Figen Murray, who lost her 22-year-old son Martyn Hett in the bombing, told Sky News: "My life feels a bit like a big giant jigsaw at the moment and (the inquiry) gives me the pieces I need to complete the picture."

Ms Murray added: "Things will never bring closure because with a bereavement of this nature you never get closure."

Many survivors of the bombing have highlighted the problems they had getting help into the arena in the aftermath of the explosion.

Some emergency responders were initially prevented from entering the area where people lay injured and dying.

Sean Gardner from Cheshire recalls a 25-minute period after the explosion when he was trying to help people with critical injuries.

He said: "The time it took for the emergency services took to enter into the foyer is the big question for me still. It has left some deep scars.

"There was always going to be a five or 10 minute gap but it was 25 minutes before we got any help.

"We were totally helpless. You are trying to deal with a circumstance that's beyond anyone's comprehension.

"There's a lot going on; the noise, the chaos and the screams of pain."

Mr Gardner was trying to save the life of somebody he didn't know who was critically injured in front of him.

He added: "As time went on, the more I am losing the person who I was trying to save. That felt like an eternity, I can promise you.

"Would people have been saved 10 minutes earlier if help had arrived? I don't know.

"Would people have less harmed mentally if people had got in quicker?

"It would be just good to know why the decisions were taken and hopefully accept that they were the right decisions."

Steve Howe's wife Alison died in the blast.

He wants the inquiry to establish who took the decisions and why.

"All the police did was stop (the responders) because of information they thought they had," Mr Howe said.

"Why it took (the police) two hours to realise (Salman Abedi) was on his own. I don't think it would have helped Alison but there were people they could have helped."

The independent public inquiry will be led by former High Court judge Sir John Saunders and it is due to finish in spring 2021.

https://news.sky.com/story/manchest...s-seek-answers-on-emergency-response-12064384
 
If he ever gets out he will be aged and broken. If they don’t adjudicate and add to his long years.

2077.

Never again to know the touch of a woman.

Never to feel the joy as he holds his own child.

Never again to walk in a field or on a beach.

Never to have the privacy of a locked door he holds the key to.

How can anything be worth losing all that?
 
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Only one paramedic was at the scene of the Manchester Arena bombing for the first 40 minutes after the explosion, an inquiry into the attack was told.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more injured when Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb as 14,000 fans left the arena in May 2017.

The inquiry heard the sole paramedic had arrived in the arena foyer 18 minutes after the bomb went off.

But at least eight ambulances had arrived nearby after 40 minutes.

Lead counsel Paul Greaney QC said the public inquiry would have to consider whether lives were lost as a result of a failure to co-ordinate the response of emergency services.

Within 10 minutes of the bomb exploding at 22:31 BST, 12 British Transport Police (BTP) officers had run into the arena foyer carrying first aid.

Causalities were taken out of the arena foyer on makeshift stretchers and only one actual stretcher was used on the night of the attack.
What is the Manchester Arena inquiry?

The final person was evacuated from the City Room at 23:40 on a stretcher "made of cardboard and a crowd control barrier".

The inquiry was told BTP had primary responsibility for policing in the arena foyer and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was not aware "at an organisational level" of the Ariana Grande concert.

"On the face of it that may seem surprising," Mr Greaney added.

He said BTP had "primacy" in this area due to the proximity of Victoria Station and the inquiry must consider whether that affected preparedness for any terror attack.

"There is a legitimate question about whether it was appropriate that BTP, who specialise in the railways, should take the lead," he added.

GMP had not made plans or provision for the event, the inquiry was told.

The second day of the hearing was told there had been multi-agency exercises rehearsing for a terror attack, including one in 2016 for an incident at the Trafford Centre.

Mr Greaney said "experts have expressed serious concerns about whether the necessary lessons were learned from it".
Arena bomber drew suspicion ahead of blast

Another exercise, held in July 2016, rehearsed for an attack in the City Room at the arena - the exact scene of the attack in May 2017.
The inquiry is seeking to establish whether BTP took part in that exercise.

The inquiry heard how the first fire engine arrived at Manchester Arena two hours and six minutes after the explosion.

"An important issue for the inquiry to investigate will be how that came to pass and whether it made any difference," Mr Greaney added.

He told the inquiry it was "important we acknowledge the pressure that those who responded were under".

"The inquiry process must not be used to vilify those who did their best on the night but made mistakes and could have done better," he added.

PC Jessica Bullough, who was first to enter the foyer, described the scene of the attack as like a "war zone".

Two minutes after the explosion, PC Bullough radioed through, saying "it's definitely a bomb - people are injured - at least 20 casualties".

She then "made the first of a number of requests for ambulances".

The inquiry was told that 24 minutes later another officer radioed to control, saying "you're going to hate me - where's our ambulances please?".

Control replied, saying "we don't know. We're calling them again".

The public inquiry follows a trial in which a jury found Hashem Abedi guilty of helping his older sibling to plan the atrocity.

He was jailed for at least 55 years on 20 August for the 22 murders.

The chairman of the inquiry Sir John Saunders will make a report and recommendations once all the evidence has been heard, which is expected to take up to six months.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-54071621
 
Manchester Arena bombing: GMP was not aware of Ariana Grande concert despite terror drill at venue months earlier, inquiry hears

Greater Manchester Police took part in a mock terror attack in the part of Manchester Arena that was bombed in 2017 months before the blast, an inquiry has heard.

Despite aiming to learn lessons from Exercise Sherman, which included fatalities in the City Room where 22 victims lost their lives, the force was “not aware” of the Ariana Grande concert taking place on the night of the attack.

Salman Abedi is believed to have deliberately targeted the event, attended by 14,000 fans, and blew himself up as crowds flooded out of the arena to meet their loved ones and return home.

The second day of a public inquiry into the bombing was told of planning and communications issues between Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and British Transport Police (BTP).

Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry, said BTP had “primacy” in policing the area because of its proximity to Victoria station and the probe would consider whether that affected preparedness for a terror attack.

He added: “GMP did not know at an organisational level of the Ariana Grande concert and had not made any provision or plan for the concert. On the face of it, that may seem surprising.”

He said that the force had played a prominent role in training exercises, including Exercise Winchester Accord at the Trafford Centre in May 2016.

Following Isis’ attacks in Paris the previous November, it included a staged marauding attack by suicide bombers and gunmen.

Then in July 2016, Mr Greaney said Exercise Sherman simulated a terror attack in the City Room, “the very thing that occurred” 10 months later.

He added that several issues arose out of the exercises, and “to a greater or lesser extent all of these issues arose in some form or another” on 22 May 2017.

The inquiry was told that GMP had drawn up a contingency plan for Manchester Arena, but BTP was not aware of it and did not maintain its own emergency plan.

Mr Greaney said three experts who looked at the policing response to the attack concluded “that none of the three levels of BTP command appeared to exert any multi-agency or effective scene command” after the bombing.

The experts found there was no integration of communications between BTP and GMP officers on the night.

Mr Greaney said that BTP declared a major incident but did not communicate this with GMP, adding: “The experts observed that this was a significant issue which restricted a shared understanding of the situation.”

Policing experts described the overall conduct of BTP on 22 May as “extremely good” and praised the conduct of officers who ran into the City Room to treat victims.

One man, who later died, was not evacuated from the scene more than 40 minutes after the explosion and chest compressions only started on him one hour and 15 minutes later.

“The issue of John Atkinson's survivability is, as we shall explore, a significant issue for the inquiry to consider,” Mr Greaney said.

The inquiry also heard that the first paramedic arrived on scene in the City Room 19 minutes after the blast and was the only one there for the first 40 minutes.

Only one stretcher was used during the response, while hundreds of others were moved on crash barriers, makeshift carriers or carried in people’s arms.

The fire service, which did have stretchers, only arrived on scene two hours and six minutes after the bomb went off after communication failings highlighted in the previous Kerslake report.

Mr Greaney said it was important to acknowledge the huge pressure and the “agony of the moment” emergency service personnel were working under at the time.

”The inquiry may in due course conclude that, in behaving as they did, they showed the very best of humanity, acting selflessly and without apparent regard for the dangers they themselves might be in in order to seek to help those who needed it,” he added.

“What we must do is probe deeply, if there were mistakes or failings, they will need to be revealed so the bereaved families know the truth and real lessons are learned.”

BTP officer Jessica Bullough was the first police officer on the scene and described it as a “war zone”, with “bodies on the floor and blood everywhere”.

She immediately sent a message on the radio saying “it's definitely a bomb”, finding nuts and bolts scattered across the scene and repeated requests were made for ambulances and “as many resources as possible”.

But 24 minutes after the blast, a radio message to control showed another officer asking where the ambulances were, and a controller replying: “We don't know, we're calling them again”.

The inquiry previously heard that a member of the public may have alerted PC Bullough, who received the Queen's Police Medal for bravery, to Abedi’s presence more than half an hour before the detonation.

PC Bullough said she did not remember the conversation with a woman who believes she saw him praying, while another couple told a security guard he was acting suspiciously.

The husband, identified only as witness A, challenged a man thought to be Abedi and alerted security guards.

The inquiry will examine differing accounts given about the warning, and whether a different response could have resulted in “mitigating actions would have been taken that could have reduced the impact of the attack”.

Sir John Saunders, a retired High Court judge, is leading the probe examining events before, during and after the attack.

Opening the inquiry on Monday, he said: “If I conclude things went wrong then I shall say so, but we are not looking for scapegoats. We are searching for the truth.”

In total, 22 victims were killed, 264 people were injured and 710 survivors have reported suffering from psychological trauma. The inquiry will resume on Wednesday.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...mbing-attack-drill-ariana-grande-b419988.html
 
Teenage killers like the mastermind of the Manchester Arena bomb attack could spend the rest of their days behind bars under a new "life means life" sentencing shake-up.

Plans to lower from 21 to 18 the age at which murderers can be jailed for life without parole are being unveiled by the government and could become law next year.

https://news.sky.com/story/teenage-...rison-after-life-means-life-shake-up-12070477
 
Manchester Arena Inquiry: Relatives present 'pen portraits' for second day

The family of a 15-year-old girl killed in the Manchester Arena bombing have shared how their "hearts have been shattered into a million pieces".

The loved ones of Megan Hurley presented a "pen portrait" of their "amazing girl" during the second week of the inquiry into the 2017 attack.

The portraits give each family the chance to present an insight into the lives of those who died.

Twenty-two people died when a bomb was detonated as people left the arena.

A slideshow of photographs documenting Megan's life were displayed on screen at Manchester Magistrates' Court as the family's lawyer read out words from her loved ones.

Megan Hurley

"Since the horrendous day in May 2017 our lives have been ruined for forever," her family wrote in their statement.

"Our hearts have been shattered into a million pieces. The pain we feel day in and day out, year upon year.

"Losing Megan has left an enormous and irreparable void in our lives. We miss you more than words can say, Megan.

"You will forever be our beautiful beauty queen."

What is the Manchester Arena inquiry?

Relatives to give 'pen portraits' to arena inquiry
Deborah Hutchison, mother of 19-year-old Courtney Boyle, from Gateshead, told the inquiry that she can still see her daughter's smile as she left the car that night.

"I will never forget the laughing in the car. As she left to get into the foyer she was complaining," she added.

"She was cold, all wrapped up in a blanket which was nothing unusual for Courtney."
"She had a beautiful heart and always put others first," she said.

Kelly Brewster

Kelly Brewster was a "larger than life" character despite being "tiny at just 5ft", her family told the inquiry.

The 32-year-old, from Sheffield, was "fun-loving, kind and thoughtful... but everyone knew she had to be taken seriously when she put her sky-scraper heels on".

The family said she was "so excited" on the day of the Ariana Grande concert because her and her "soulmate" Ian Wilmslow had had an offer accepted on a new four-bedroom home that morning.

They said the couple were planning to have a baby and had already planned which room was going to be Ian's daughter's bedroom and the nursery.

"Kelly was the happiest she had ever been," the inquiry heard.

Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett, also presented a "pen portrait" to the inquiry.

She said the 29-year-old, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, had "the most incredible passion for life" and an "energy that was exhausting at times" living at "100 miles an hour".

"He had this catching charisma about him," she said. "Everybody just loved him."
"He was proud of who he was, he believed in who he was."

She said his loss left "this absolutely massive, gaping hole inside my soul."

On Monday, the inquiry heard testimony from Martyn's father Paul, along with tributes to John Atkinson, 28, from Bury, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, from the Isle of Barra, and Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, from Leeds.

The inquiry comes more than three years after the bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, which left hundreds more injured.
It was due to start in June, but was delayed by the trial of Salman Abedi's brother Hashem, who was jailed for at least 55 years for 22 murders on 20 August.

The commemorative hearings are expected to conclude on 23 September.

The inquiry was set up to examine the background to the attack and the response of the emergency services.

Its chairman, Sir John Saunders, will make a report and recommendations once all the evidence has been heard, which is expected to take up to six months.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-54164952
 
The mother of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing has described how she asked her husband to let her die after he broke the news about their daughter.

Saffie-Rose Roussos, eight, was at the Ariana Grande concert with her mother, Lisa Roussos and older sister Ashlee Bromwich.
 
Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber ‘missed by seconds’ by patrol

The Manchester Arena suicide bomber was missed by seconds by a police patrol, the inquiry into the bombing heard.

Salman Abedi, dressed in black and bent over by the weight of the home-made bomb in a large rucksack, later made his way to the foyer where he detonated the explosive, killing 22 people.

The inquiry has heard of “missed opportunities” prior to the attack.

Four British Transport Police (BTP) operatives were present on the night of the attack, one PC and three PCSOs, patrolling in pairs, the hearing in Manchester was told.

It heard PC Jessica Bullough and PCSO Mark Renshaw took a break at about 19:30 BST, leaving Manchester Arena to buy food, as the Ariana Grande concert began on 22 May 2017.

They returned 45 minutes later and resumed patrolling two hours and 10 minutes after they first departed to buy food, the inquiry heard.

Two more PCSOs, Jon Morrey and Lewis Brown, took an hour’s break from 21:15.

Between 21:15 and 21:37, it appeared no BTP officer was patrolling the railway station, when Abedi took up his position at 21:33 in the foyer of the venue, the inquiry heard.

Earlier, the two PCSOs had conducted a routine check on toilets at Victoria Station at 20:49, less than a minute after Abedi left there.

Both police and Showsec security workers later received reports of suspicions from members of the public about Abedi, the inquiry was told.

The inquiry continues.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-54378154
 
A senior officer at British Transport Police has accepted the force let the public down on the night of the Manchester Arena attack.

Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan has been giving evidence to the public inquiry into the atrocity.

He agreed mistakes were made, including having no officers in the foyer where bomber Salman Abedi hid before the blast which killed 22 people.

Mr O'Callaghan said the attack had "happened on [BTP's] watch".

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more were injured as they left an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

The inquiry previously heard there were no police officers on patrol when 22-year-old Abedi made his journey from Victoria Station to the City Room.

"The attack that happened that night happened on our watch," Mr O'Callaghan, who was not working for BTP at the time, said.

"There is not a day that goes by when BTP doesn't consider that."

He added: "Did we let the people down?

"It was our responsibility to police that arena and that attack happened when we were policing it, there were police officers planned to be deployed to the site of the attack and they were not there - so in that term, yes."

Mr O'Callaghan agreed if BTP officers had been in the City Room at the end of the show, Abedi could have been challenged before he detonated his bomb.

He also acknowledged it was unacceptable two of the officers on duty had taken a two-hour break.

But the assistant chief constable denied the threat of terrorism at the Manchester Arena had been disregarded by the force.

"There was no specific mitigation taken in relation to [the Ariana Grande concert] other than officers on patrol," he said.

"The information officers had at the time was up to 100 concerts a year had been going on at the arena…there was nothing to focus the mind on people planning a policing response that a person-borne IED was plausible at that time."

The inquiry at Manchester Magistrates' Court heard risk assessments by BTP for events at the arena were never documented.

Mr O'Callaghan said: "The process we adopted in our own risk assessments, in my view, was not to a suitable standard."

But he said there was no policy in place to say the assessments should have been documented.

Mr O'Callaghan said there had been a number of improvements to police planning for events at the arena.

This includes specific counter-terrorism briefings for all officers, formal documented risk assessments specific to each event and more multi-agency meetings.

The inquiry, which is examining the background to the attack and if any opportunities to prevent it were missed, continues.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-england-manchester-54958952?__twitter_impression=true
 
Ariana Grande's management dropped requests for tighter security on the night of the Manchester Arena concert attack because it cost too much, the inquiry has heard.

Bob Fontenot, the venue security director for the singer's Dangerous Woman tour, asked for extra measures to be added but dropped the idea when he was told how much it would cost.

The inquiry was shown a "show rider" for the tour that originally asked for "bag checks and metal detectors upon entry at the discretion of the venue".

Ariana Grande's touring team wanted full pat downs, but they never made a request to the arena, the inquiry was told.

"If they had wanted it, they could have had it," Mr Allen said, citing a Bruno Mars concert two weeks before the attack, with the same promoter, Live Nation.

Her team was told use of metal detector "wands" was not standard practice at the arena and instead requested "full pat-downs", which was priced at £3,500.

The full pat downs were adopted at a previous date at the NEC in Birmingham on May 18 2017, because they were cheaper, but in Manchester four days later, only "random" pat downs were used.

As they were evacuated from the arena after the attack, Mr Fontenot turned to Rik Weightman, production manager for the concert promoter Live Nation, and said "that's why we needed full pat downs", the inquiry was told.

In fact the bomb had been set off in the "City Room", the foyer where the arena box office was housed, which was outside the security cordon.

Salman Abedi, the bomber, had sat in the foyer for an hour before launching his attack as the concert came to an end, but never tried to get into the concert "bowl" itself.

However, the arena has now introduced metal detector arches for all those entering the venue.

The inquiry was told that the measures requested were for the safety of Miss Grande rather than the crowd.

In a witness statement, Mr Weightman said Mr Fontenot had been "fairly unhappy at the extra cost and he said he wasn't willing to sign off the extra cost".

He added: "Although Bob expressed his personal view that all venues should be doing full pat downs, he wasn't going to pay extra if the Manchester Arena didn't do it as a matter of course.

"At the NEC in Birmingham there was the option to have full pat downs at a low additional cots which was significantly lower than that quoted by Manchester Arena."

"Wanding" was seen as an alternative to pat downs, but again Mr Fontenot "felt that wanding should be standard but if it wasn't standard at the venue, he didn't feel the tour should pay for it".

After the attack, the singer's management claimed that they had "insisted" on obtaining magnetic wands "regardless of the cost" and claimed that the "venue affiliates denied the request and pat down searches were instead implemented".

But the inquiry was shown emails from Miriam Stone, head of events for SMG, the venue operator, to Mr Weightman, saying: "Full pat down?!?! That's bigger than wanding! Requiring search lanes and around 30 or so staff. Are you sure you want full pat down? Cost around £3,500ish.

"We can find a compromise. If we have a profile lane at each door, we can pick out either by profiling or every say, 10th person, and do more frequent random searches.

"Add to that a couple of extra access control per door doing random wanding, we can do that with a total of 10 staff, 5 hours minimum call, so about £900 total."

The response was: "Random pat downs only, no wanding."

John Cooper QC, for the victims' families, asked Mr Weightman: "There is an issue of how much security costs, it can at times mean security is not taken because it is just too expensive?"

"It can at times, yes," Mr Weightman said.

https://news.sky.com/story/manchest...ing-to-sign-off-extra-security-costs-12147908
 
Hashem Abedi has admitted for the first time his involvement in planning the Manchester Arena bombing, an inquiry has been told.

The terror attack, which targeted an Ariana Grande concert, killed 22 people and injured hundreds more on 22 May 2017.

Abedi, 23, made the admission in prison in October while he was visited by two members of the inquiry's legal team.

The brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, had pleaded not guilty earlier this year to 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.

He did not give evidence at the Old Bailey, but provided a pre-prepared defence statement in which he denied involvement.

He claimed to have been "shocked" by what his brother had done and did not hold extremist views.

He was convicted by a jury of all the offences and was handed 24 life sentences in August with a minimum term of 55 years before he can be considered for parole.

The inquiry, which is being held in Manchester, was told Abedi was interviewed in prison on 22 October where he admitted he played "a full and knowing part".

His admission was confirmed by Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough, of Greater Manchester Police, who was the senior investigating officer in the attack probe.

Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry, said: "On October 22, Hashem Abedi admitted that he had played a full part and a knowing part in the planning and preparation for the arena attack."

Although he was in Libya at the time of the attack, he had been alongside his brother in Manchester at critical moments when chemicals were purchased and mixed to make the explosives for the device.

The inquiry was shown parts of his defence statement initially handed to police after his extradition from Libya in July last year.

He told police that if he had known of the attack, he would have reported it to his mother and then to other family members to prevent it from happening.

He said: "I was shocked my brother had done this and felt bad for everybody. I could never have envisaged that my brother had it in him to do this to innocent people."

He added he was a practising Muslim but did not "delve too deep into anything other than I pray and read Koran".

"I have no interest in Daesh (ISIS) and have no sympathy or support for their ideology and extremism. I am not a member of ISIS nor do I subscribe to their way of thinking or ideology," he said.

The public inquiry is being chaired by a retired high court judge, Sir John Saunders, and is looking into the events before, during and after the attack.

The inquiry continues.

https://news.sky.com/story/manchest...ent-in-planning-bombing-inquiry-told-12154182
 
The youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing could have survived if she had received faster medical treatment from paramedics, the inquiry has heard.

Police officers were reduced to shouting over the radio in their desperation for ambulance staff to come and help them at the scene of the bombing, the inquiry was told.

Two of the victims survived the initial explosion and the inquiry named Saffie-Rose Roussos, aged eight, as the other victim who could have been saved.

The inquiry has previously heard that John Atkinson, 28, only received treatment after he was carried to paramedics by members of the public on a makeshift stretcher and suffered a heart attack an hour and 17 minutes after the blast.

Salman Abedi killed 22 men, women and children when he blew himself up in a suicide bomb attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

New details were released as the second phase of the inquiry began, focusing on the emergency response, and in particular why only one member of the ambulance staff entered the scene of the explosion for the first 40 minutes and no firefighters arrived for two hours.

Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry, told the hearing: "Most of those who died suffered injuries in bombing that were, in the view of experts, un-survivable.

"In two cases a different response may, and I underline that word 'may', have led to a different outcome.

"Those two cases were John Atkinson and Saffie-Rose Roussos, who we did not name in the opening."

Saffie, from Leyland, Lancashire, was at the concert with her mother, Lisa Roussos and older sister Ashlee Bromwich.

Her mother and sister were rushed to hospital and lost contact with Saffie who was carried to ambulances by members of the public.

An expert report commissioned by lawyers for the Roussos family found she lived for more than an hour after the blast and that opportunities to help her were missed, according to the BBC.

According to the report, Saffie asked a paramedic "Am I going to die?" as she was being taken to hospital, and died from losing blood from her legs, but no tourniquets or splints were applied to reduce the bleeding.

Her father, Andrew Roussos, told Sky News of his "total shock" at what he read in the report.

He said: "Total opposite to what I had in my head altogether. I feel gutted for Saffie. I'm distraught."

He added: "We didn't read any reports in the first three years. And when the inquiry team said her injuries were unsurvivable we just took that as they were that severe that she could not survive."

The inquiry heard that dozens of police officers and civilians arrived at the scene of the bombing while ambulance staff stayed back.

In the first 10 minutes after the explosion, nine police officers and three police community support officers, all from British Transport Police, were inside or very near the City Room foyer where the bomb went off.

They had been on duty at Victoria Station, underneath the arena, or nearby and brought first aid kits with them or fetched them from elsewhere.

Police were joined by five first aid specialists from an organisation working at the arena called Emergency Training UK.

In the next 10 minutes, 19 unarmed officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) arrived at Victoria Station, in four double crewed carriers and four tactical aid units, along with several armed response vehicles.

However, it was not until 10.53pm, 22 minutes after the explosion, that Patrick Ennis, the first paramedic on the scene, entered the City Room.

He made contact with the GMP Bronze Commander on the ground and the ETUK first aiders and left after five minutes.

Half an hour after the explosion, there were six paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), including an advanced paramedic, a senior paramedic and a consultant paramedic, along with an NWAS doctor at Victoria Station, but none were in the City Room.

One further ambulance arrived at Trinity Way where they stopped to tend to Saffie-Rose Roussos who was carried out of the City Room, down the 50 Pence Staircase and through the Trinity Way Link Tunnel at 10.58pm, 27 minutes after the explosion.

Mr Geaney told the inquiry: "On the basis of material generated since I made my opening statement, survivability is an issue in the case of Saffie."

It was only at 11.14pm - 43 minutes after the explosion - that the NWAS hazardous area response team (HART) arrived at the station, which had been established in 2009 and equipped with specialist equipment and skills in order to access and treat patients in difficult and hazardous conditions after a terrorist attack.

Mr Greaney said that it was "relevant to note it did not take long at all for concerns to begin to emerge - that very night some of those on the ground expressed frustration, even extreme frustration and anger, at how events unfolded".

He said many police officers had body-worn video and although the footage is "graphic and distressing in the extreme", some audio will be played to the inquiry.

"It reveals the thoughts of those who were there at the time," Mr Greaney said.

He cited the example of PC Matthew Hill who was in the City Room foyer at 11.02pm, where the explosion had taken place half an hour earlier, and was heard on his radio saying to a colleague: "We need paramedics, like f***ing yesterday."

At 11.08pm, a PC Mark Kay walked over to his colleague PC Michael Ball and said: "There is nobody we can move really is there?"

PC Ball replied: "Not really no, they are all really badly injured. If we start moving people, we need paramedics basically."

Sgt Kam Hare of the Greater Manchester Police Tactical Aid Unit entered the City Room at 10.50pm and recalled "shouting over the radio for paramedics to enter the City Room".

He was said to have "emphasised" to Advance Paramedic Patrick Ennis, who was the only member of ambulance staff present in the room, "that this needed to occur" and "became frustrated that this was not, as it seemed to him, being acted on".

Mr Greaney told the inquiry: "These are just examples from the many witnesses. They are not merely the result of detailed reflection in the months and years distanced from the moment, they were being expressed as the response itself occurred.

"Why the fire service did not attend promptly and why NWAS (North West Ambulance Service) did not enter the City Room in significant numbers are just some of the issues we will have to consider as part of the emergency response overall.

"They are not the only considerations, but they are plainly issues of significance."

The hearing continues.

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19...irus-deaths-and-another-37-535-cases-12191659
 
A survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing has said better security at venues has to be one of the lasting legacies of the atrocity.

The inquiry into the 2017 terror attack will publish its first report later into the security operation at the Ariana Grande concert.

Security guards working at the Arena on the night told the inquiry that people had warned them about the man with the heavy backpack at the venue - but problems with their radios meant they couldn't report the concerns to their control room.

The bomber was able to hide in CCTV blackspots at the venue, and the City Room - the foyer where the bomb was detonated - wasn't patrolled by police officers, according to the orders they'd been given.

Adam Lawler, 19, from Bury, suffered serious injuries in the explosion and his friend Olivia Campbell was one of the 22 people who were killed.

He told Sky News: "A lot of people did just bottle it... you can be paralysed by fear but you know when that's your profession of security or policing - your response should be to hold your bottle and go in there.

"I'm understanding but I am resentful and I am angry like many people are."

SKY
 
Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi should have been identified as a threat on the night of the atrocity by those in charge of security, a public inquiry into the 2017 attack has found.

Inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders found there were missed opportunities to prevent the "devastating impact".

He said it was likely Abedi would have detonated his device if confronted but "the loss of life and injury is highly likely to have been less".

Twenty-two people died in the bombing.

Hundreds more were injured when Manchester-born Abedi, who was of Libyan descent, walked across the foyer of the arena and detonated the bomb at 22: 31 BST on 22 May 2017.

The public inquiry into the attack started in September 2020 and was set up to explore the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the bombing.

'Fobbed off'
The report, which is the first of three to be published by the inquiry, examines security failures relating to the attack.

It has levelled criticism at British Transport Police (BTP), the arena operators SMG, and their contracted security providers, Showsec.

Sir John said two teenage stewards did not react "as robustly and effectively as they should have" when a member of the public, Christopher Wild, raised his concerns about the bomber.

He said Mr Wild was "fobbed off".

The inquiry chairman called this "the most striking missed opportunity".

BBC
 
https://news.sky.com/story/manchester-arena-bombers-brother-ismail-abedi-flees-country-after-trying-to-avoid-giving-evidence-to-inquiry-12438238

The older brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has fled the country as he seeks to avoid giving evidence to the inquiry.

A friend of the bomber was also arrested as he tried to leave the UK on Monday, after claiming he was suffering from depression and should be granted anonymity.

Salman Abedi blew himself up at Manchester Arena in May 2017 killing 22 people and a second brother Hashem, is serving life in prison for helping build the bomb.

Ismail Abedi, their older brother, had asked the inquiry to give an undertaking that he would not be prosecuted using anything he might tell the hearing but it was refused.

As the inquiry begins to look at Salman Abedi's radicalisation, Paul Greaney QC, for the inquiry, said their legal team had done "all it can to obtain evidence" from Abedi's family.

However, his father, Ramadan, and mother, Samia, are in Libya and have refused to cooperate with inquiry or provide any statements or evidence "of any kind", Mr Greaney said.

Ismail Abedi usually lives in Britain, but it was "highly regrettable he has also refused to give a statement or cooperate with the inquiry in any meaningful way".

A section 21 notice has been delivered requiring him to turn up at the inquiry on Thursday but Mr Greaney added: "We understand he is not currently in the country and there is no indication about when he will return.

"Ismail Abedi clearly has important evidence to give the inquiry and we urge him to make contact with the inquiry, either directly or indirectly through legal representatives," he added.

"As he surely must understand, if he does not do so, the public may infer that he has something to hide, and so may you."

Sir John Saunders, the inquiry chairman, urged people not to make public statements that might discourage him from attending.

Another friend, Ahmed Taghdi, was arrested as he tried to leave the country on Monday.

The 29-year-old, who helped buy and store a car used to clear out the bomb factory in North Manchester, is refusing to give evidence, saying he is suffering from depression and should be given anonymity for his own protection.

He was an associate of a jailed ISIS recruiter called Abdalraouf Abdallah who is also refusing to answer any questions from the inquiry on the grounds that he might incriminate himself.

Taghdi had also been served with a section 21 notice and the inquiry had been granted an enforcement notice to ensure his attendance, at the High Court on Friday.

After his arrest, Taghdi claimed he was planning to return on Wednesday, and he had a return ticket for that date, the inquiry was told.

Family members have said that Ismail Abedi contacted his parents and got them to take his younger brothers back to Libya when he was concerned they had dropped out of college.

However, the inquiry has also heard that he had extremist material on his mobile phone when he was stopped returning to Britain in 2015.

After the attack, a disc drive was found at his flat in Manchester which included images of burned bodies and one depicting the black flag adopted by ISIS and the words: "I pledge allegiance."

Ismail was also connected by forensic evidence to an item later found in the Nissan Micra that his brothers used to transport and store the chemicals that made the bomb.

Besides his family, the inquiry intends to call friends and associates and examine Abedi's use of the internet and social media and his attendance at school, college, university and mosques.

Abedi's younger brother, Hashem Abedi, was convicted of assisting in the preparation and planning of the attack and the inquiry has obtained a written statement from him.

In it he confesses to his role in the bombing and set out his motivations, the inquiry has heard.

"You will no doubt want to take this into account when considering Salman Abedi's motivation and radicalisation," Mr Greaney said.

"Some of the matters can be verified by other evidence," he added.

"The statement is a self-serving document which amounts to pro-Islamic State propaganda and needs to be treated with some caution.

"In the light of what he says, you may conclude that the arena attack was influenced, at least, by the distorted ideology of the so-called Islamic State."

The inquiry will also look at whether Abedi should have been referred to the government's Prevent de-radicalisation strategy.

It will explore how the policy worked in 2017, what problems there may have been and what has been done since to improve the system.

Without naming the suspect in the killing of Sir David Amess, who was referred to Prevent, Sir John said the strategy was "very much the focus of public attention"

He said there was another inquiry into how it operates and whether it can be improved and he did not want to "tread on the toes of that inquiry".

The inquiry continues.
Click to expand...
 
The mosque which the Manchester Arena bomber attended failed to adequately "challenge extremist ideology" in the years before the attack, the families of his victims have said.

A former Didsbury Mosque imam has told the Manchester Arena Inquiry support for terror groups was preached there.

In a statement, some of the bereaved said they were "dismayed" by the mosque's "failure to acknowledge this".

A trustee has previously told the inquiry the mosque was "mainstream".

On Tuesday, the chairman of the mosque's trustees, Fawaz Haffar, said encouraging any radicalisation would be "in contradiction of our charitable objects".

"We are a mainstream mosque welcoming all Muslims, but we are in the middle of the road," he said.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds more injured when Abedi detonated his homemade device at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.

The inquiry has previously heard how his elder brother Ismail was in possession of a "significant" amount of extremist material supporting the Islamic State group when he was teaching at Didsbury Mosque.

'Wake up call'

In a statement read outside Wednesday's hearing, the families of some of those killed said while there was "no evidence" that the mosque played "a direct role in radicalising Salman Abedi, it is clear that they failed in the years before the bombing to take adequate steps to challenge extremist ideology".

They said they had been "shocked by the complacency displayed" by Mr Haffar and believed the mosque "failed to do all that it could and should have done to combat and prevent radicalisation amongst the community it purports to serve".

They said they believed "most Muslims will also be dismayed by this failure and added that the last two days of evidence "must be a wake-up call".

"We urge all communities around the country to heed the lessons of this week's evidence, to redouble efforts to combat extremism of all kinds, and to be clear and vocal in doing so," they said.

Earlier, the inquiry heard from Mohammed Saeed El-Saeiti, an imam who led prayers at the mosque during the years Salman Abedi and his family attended.

He said his fellow imam Mustafa Graf had led prayers that called for victory for terrorist groups fighting in the Libyan civil war, which began in 2014.

He said Mr Graf was praying "for the terrorist groups in Benghazi, he was praying for their victory, while they were beheading civilians and beheading innocent people".

He also said supporters of the terrorist groups were allowed to meet at the mosque in 2015 and 2016 and that after reporting concerns to the mosque's trustees, he was told some of the "brothers" in the congregation had allowed to use the building as a venue for meetings.

'Hateful look'

The inquiry heard that Mr El-Saeiti received death threats on social media after giving a sermon against Libyan terrorist groups on the day a video was released of the murder of Salford aid worker Alan Henning by the Islamic State group in 2014.

Salman Abedi's father Ramadan was among those who criticised the imam, although he did not issue a death threat.

Mr El-Saeiti said after his sermon, he encountered Salman Abedi, who gave him a "hateful look".

"He showed me that he didn't like me, basically," he said.

The hearing was told some members of the congregation had also organised a petition, calling for Mr El-Saeiti's removal from office after the sermon.

The petition was signed by Salman Abedi's brothers Hashem, who was jailed for life in 2020 for his part in the Manchester bombing, and Ismail.

Mohammed Saeed El-Saeiti said a fellow imam had prayed for terrorist groups during sermons at Didsbury Mosque
The imam said he eventually left the mosque in July 2020.

He denied that he "held a grudge" against the mosque and said he was "only telling the truth".

He added that he disagreed with statements given by other members of the mosque to the inquiry.

On Tuesday, Mr Haffar denied the mosque had an issue with radicalisation and said it did not "encourage anyone to get involved with wars abroad", as it would be "in contradiction of our charitable objects".

"We are very clear, even through our imams, that we are a mainstream mosque welcoming all Muslims, but we are in the middle of the road," he said.

He told the hearing the claims by Mr El-Saeiti were false.

The inquiry continues.

BBC
 
Oh dear. :(

<b>BBC — Manchester Arena attack: Families 'disgusted' by memorial trespassing.</b>

Families of people killed in the Manchester Arena attack have said they were "disgusted" after a memorial site for the 22 victims was trespassed on.

The Glade of Light memorial in the city centre remains a building site and does not officially open until the new year.
Two bereaved families said they were appalled to find the security fences pulled down on Sunday.

Hundreds of people were injured when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.
After being contacted by the BBC about the trespassing, Manchester City Council said it had sent a security team to the site to keep it safe until it can be investigated on Monday.

Caroline Curry, from South Shields, whose 19-year-old son Liam was killed in the bombing, told the BBC she was "disgusted" by the trespassers.

Ms Curry said she found hundreds of people were walking through the area, which is supposed to be closed to the public.

<b>She said one man stood on a memorial stone and was abusive when challenged, another woman vomited all over the area, and groups of youths were openly smoking drugs.</b>

Claire Brewster, from Sheffield, lost her sister Kelly, 32, and was herself seriously injured.

She said she was "devastated" to arrive in Manchester on Sunday night to see people moving the fences to walk through the memorial.

<b>Ms Curry and Ms Brewster spent hours at the site, trying to guard the memorial on their own.

No security guards were present and no-one from the council appeared.</b>

Later on Sunday, Manchester City Council said it had sent a security team to "assess what's happening" and keep the memorial safe overnight.

Councillor Pat Karney, the council's city centre lead, said the council would be investigating "as a matter of urgency" what happened to the memorial, as well as what is needed to "keep the site secure."

He said there was "no excuse for the kind of behaviour in and around the memorial site witnessed by the bereaved relatives" on Sunday.

"The whole area is covered by CCTV and if footage shows it was due to the deliberate actions of mindless thugs, rather than a problem with the fencing itself, we will pass this information on to the police," he added.

"We utterly condemn this mindless and disrespectful behaviour and will not hesitate to take action against those involved."

The council has previously said the memorial, which is situated alongside Manchester Cathedral and is due to open to the public in January, is designed to be "a tranquil garden space for remembrance and reflection".

Announcing the plans in January, it said the garden would include a "stone halo" centrepiece bearing the names of the victims of the attack and personalised memory capsules, containing items provided by each victim's loved ones.

Greater Manchester Police said it had received a report of vandalism and officers were investigating.
 
The Manchester Arena bomber swore at school teachers, stole a mobile phone from a prefect and skipped class, his former headteacher has revealed.

Salman Abedi was "badly behaved from the start of his school career" and "extremely rude", said Ian Fenn, who led staff at Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester.

He joined the college on 12 January, 2009, aged 14, after leaving another technical college due to "problems with other boys", Mr Fenn recalled.

He was "just not really engaged or interested in education", and "didn't really bother", it was said.

"School wasn't something that meant much to him," Mr Fenn added.

"It was like he knew he didn't have anything really invested in it."

On one occasion after an exam in June 2011, Abedi told a teacher to "f*** off".

He was excluded for four days after stealing the phone from the prefect and "showing no remorse".

But while Abedi was "lacklustre" and "lazy", Mr Fenn told of his surprise at the former student being behind the atrocity on 22 May, 2017, after an Ariana Grande concert.

"You don't think someone who's involved in that sort of minor criminality is going to go on and do what he did."

Fellow pupils were also stunned by Abedi's actions, Mr Fenn said.

An IS recruiter called Abdalraouf Abdalllah was "just a clown" when he was also at Burnage College but when Abedi began associating with him after both had left the school, Abedi's behaviour changed, Mr Fenn said.

He started praying five times a day and made offensive comments, including calling people "kuffar" - a derogatory term referring to people who are not Muslim.

Mr Fenn referred to that as "ultra-orthodox" but added that there was "a lot of difference between orthodox and extremist".

Meanwhile, Abedi's younger brother, Hashem, who helped build the bomb used in the attack, was described as "disruptive".

He was placed in a special inclusion unit at the school, which serves the inner-city areas of Longsight, Rusholme, Levenshulme and Moss Side, when he was in year nine.

"He was clever enough to access a main stream curriculum, but he wasn't accessing it and was stopping other people accessing it," Mr Fenn said.

"Salman was much more badly behaved around the school - bad language, being an idiot, shouting - whereas Hashem was a disruptive element in the classroom."

Salman Abedi left the college on 24 June 2011 - with staff clueless about where he was.

They later learned he had travelled to Libya.

The inquiry earlier heard how the youngest of the 22 victims, Saffie-Rose Roussos, eight, asked "am I going to die" as she was taken to hospital.

Hundreds were left injured after Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb in the arena foyer.

Police officers who carried Saffie out of the building described their desperate search for an ambulance - before realising help was not coming "any time soon".

One hero care worker stayed with an injured man for almost an hour, holding a tourniquet, while he waited for a paramedic.

Sky
 
Three convicted terrorists, including the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, have been found guilty of attacking a prison officer in Belmarsh's high security unit.

Paul Edwards, 57, said he thought he would be killed when he was set upon by Hashem Abedi, Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan and Muhammed Saeed, who spoke about carrying out a knife attack in London.

Abedi, 24, conspired with his elder brother and suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people and injured hundreds more at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017.

He was suspected of being the "amir" or "leader" of a group of Islamist terrorist inmates inside Belmarsh's "prison within a prison," Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Abedi is seen smiling in CCTV footage before he, Hassan and Saeed storm Mr Edwards' office, where he operated an "open door policy".

Mr Edwards, a custodian manager who has worked at Belmarsh for 25 years, told jurors he was hit with a chair, repeatedly punched and kicked on May 11 2020.

"I feared for my life, and I genuinely thought if I hadn't fought back I would've ended up with at least extreme injuries or dead," he said.

He said "it felt like a lifetime" before colleagues, including Nick Barnett, who has been a prison officer for 21 years, came to his aid seconds later.

"It was just like a pack of animals on Mr Edwards," said Mr Barnett, who was also kicked in the leg by Abedi during the incident.

Mr Edwards, who can be seen with head injuries and blood on his shirt, suffered a laceration to his head, bruising to his back, rib cage and face and has lasting damage to his hearing.

All three prisoners denied assault causing actual bodily harm to Mr Edwards but were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday by a jury after around three and a half hours of deliberations.

Abedi was also found guilty of assault by beating of an emergency worker over the attack on Mr Barnett.

"I don't think we get created like other prisoners"

Abedi, who defended himself, was not allowed to cross-examine his victims but accused other prison officers of lying in their statements as he questioned them from the dock.

In a closing speech, he said: "I don't think we get treated like other prisoners."

When Abedi appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court, he said in relation to the assault: "I did assault that filthy pig, but I don't see any wrongdoing."

Asked about the second charge, he was said to have replied: "Same as before, I don't see any wrongdoing."

At a later Crown Court appearance, Hassan told a judge: "I hate you very much, you are an evil man."

The judge said she will sentence them later on Tuesday.

SKY
 
The elder brother of the Manchester Arena suicide bomber has been convicted of failing to appear at a public inquiry he was ordered to attend.

Ismail Abedi, 29, refused to answer questions from the inquiry in case he incriminated himself.

The chairman, Sir John Saunders, had rejected his position and demanded he appear as a witness.

Last year Abedi fled the UK and has not returned. He now uses the name Ben Romdhan.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds injured when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

Younger brother Hashem Abedi was jailed two years ago after being convicted of murdering all those who died.

At Manchester Magistrates' Court, District Judge Jack McGarva convicted Ismail Abedi of failing to comply with a legal notice to attend the Manchester Arena inquiry as a witness.

He said "I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt he has no reasonable excuse for not attending" and "he is guilty of the offence as charged".



BBC
 
A judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of the older brother of the Manchester Arena bomber after he refused to give evidence to the inquiry into the bombing and fled the country.

The district judge said he was satisfied that Ismail Abedi, 28 - who now calls himself Ishmale ben Romdhan - was aware of the hearing and had been given the opportunity to attend.

Abedi, an IT worker, left his flat in Manchester last August and is now thought to be with his parents and three youngest siblings in Libya.

A final tannoy was made at Manchester Magistrates Court on Tuesday to check he was not in the building.

Salman Abedi blew himself up at the Arena in May 2017 killing 22 men, women and children. His younger brother Hashem, 24, who was extradited from Libya, is serving life for helping him make the bomb.

The inquiry wanted to question Ismail because his DNA was found on a hammer in a Nissan Micra car that was used by his two younger brothers to transport and store the explosive they had manufactured.

The victims' families also wanted to question him about his brothers' radicalisation, particularly because Islamic State propaganda was found on Ismail's phone when he returned from his honeymoon, 20 months before the bombing.

SKY
 
A Muslim preacher who was close to the Manchester bomber had been suspected by MI5 of being a radicaliser more than a decade earlier, the BBC can reveal.

A public inquiry into the atrocity will this week report on how Salman Abedi was radicalised, and whether security services missed chances to stop him.

The preacher, Mansour Al-Anezi, had been investigated before another close associate of his tried to carry out a suicide bombing in Exeter in 2008.

Al-Anezi died before the arena attack.

Twenty two people died in the bombing. Secret hearings, which excluded victims' families, discussed evidence from MI5 about Abedi and associates who were known to the security service.

A BBC investigation has identified information that did not appear in the public hearings - and might not have appeared in the closed sessions either.

Suicide bombings, both actual and attempted, are rare in the UK. In the past 15 years, the only two confirmed incidents were the Manchester and Exeter bombings.

An explosion in a Liverpool taxi in 2021, which killed the bomb maker, has not been publicly confirmed as an intentional suicide bombing.

The fact that both Manchester and Exeter involved associates of Al-Anezi could be a coincidence. But the BBC has discovered that the authorities were investigating him as a suspected radicaliser before the Exeter attack.

The officer who led the Manchester investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough, told the arena inquiry that the relationship between Al-Anezi and Salman Abedi was "clearly a connection of significance", but police were unable to establish exactly what it was.

The inquiry also heard Al-Anzei had been arrested in connection with the Exeter attack. But the public hearings were not told he was investigated by MI5 before that.

The preacher, who was not charged, regularly led prayers at a Plymouth mosque frequented by the bomber, a Muslim convert called Nicky Reilly, then aged 22.

Reilly had learning difficulties and Asperger's Syndrome. His family considered him vulnerable and influenced by people he met.

BBC
 
Manchester Arena attack: Security services might have prevented bombing, inquiry finds

The security services were guilty of "a significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented" the Manchester Arena bombing, according to the chairman of the inquiry into the atrocity.

A report published by former high court judge Sir John Saunders, the third and final from his inquiry, looked at whether MI5 and counter-terror police could have prevented bomber Salman Abedi from carrying out the attack.

The inquiry had heard Manchester-born Abedi had been on the radar of the security services for seven years before the bombing.

Twenty-two people died and hundreds were injured in Abedi's suicide bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

The report also covered the radicalisation of Abedi and the planning and preparation for the attack.

But the focus for many of the families of the victims has been the failings of the security services to prevent the attack.

In his report, Sir John said: "There was a significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack.

"It is not possible to reach any conclusion on the balance of probabilities or to any other evidential standard as to whether the attack would have been prevented.

"However, there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained which might have led to actions preventing the attack."

He said the reason for the missed opportunity included a failure by a Security Service officer to act swiftly enough.

https://news.sky.com/story/manchest...nchester-arena-bombing-inquiry-finds-12823614
 
Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi died from suicide while undertaking a terror attack that murdered 22 innocent victims and injured many others, an inquest has concluded.

Some of the victims' families urged Sir John Saunders, chairman of the public inquiry into the terror attack, not to record the cause of death simply as suicide, given what Abedi had done.

Lawyers acting for the families in legal submissions said: To formally record his death as simply suicide and shorn of all reference to his murderous attack would fundamentally fail to record the true circumstances of his death and unjustly misrepresent and minimise the true impact of his mode of death.

Source: Sky News
 

Manchester Arena bomb: Hundreds of survivors to sue MI5​


More than 250 survivors of the Manchester Arena bomb are taking legal action against MI5, lawyers representing them have confirmed.

Twenty-two people died and hundreds more were injured in the blast in May 2017.

Legal teams representing many survivors injured in the explosion said they have submitted a group claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).

MI5 said it would not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

In a joint statement, Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter - the three lead firms representing the client group - said: "Legal teams representing injured survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 can confirm that they have collectively submitted a group claim on behalf of more than 250 clients to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

"As it is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable or provide any further details, or comment further, at this stage."

In March 2023, the director-general of MI5 Ken McCallum said he was "profoundly sorry" the security service did not prevent the Manchester Arena attack.

His comments followed the findings of a public inquiry which concluded MI5 missed a significant chance to take action that might have stopped the bombing.

Chairman of the inquiry Sir John Saunders said the intelligence could have led to suicide bomber Salman Abedi being followed to a car where he stored his explosives.

Mr McCallum said he regretted that such intelligence was not obtained.

He said: "Gathering covert intelligence is difficult but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma."

The IPT is an independent judicial body which provides the right of redress to anyone who believes they have been the victim of unlawful action by a public authority using covert investigative techniques.

It also consider complaints about conduct by, or on behalf of, the UK intelligence services.

www.bbc.com

Manchester Arena bomb: Hundreds of survivors to sue MI5

A claim on behalf of more than 250 survivors of the 2017 blast has been lodged, lawyers confirm.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
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