Martin and Eve Hibbert, who suffered life-changing injuries in attack, win harassment claim against Richard Hall
Two survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing have won a high court harassment case against a former television producer who claimed the attack had been staged.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall for harassment and data protection over his claims in several videos and a book that “there was no bomb”.
Continue reading...More than 250 people join group action claiming security service failed to take steps that could have prevented 2017 bombing
Hundreds of the Manchester Arena bombing survivors, along with relatives of the victims, have launched legal action against MI5, claiming it failed to take action that could have stopped the attack.
More than 250 people have joined the group action against MI5 and have submitted their claim to the investigatory powers tribunal, which hears complaints against the intelligence services.
Continue reading...Survey of 236 young people caught up in 2017 blast shows 29% have not received any mental health support
Nearly one in three children and young people caught up in the Manchester Arena attack have not received any professional help, a study has found.
A survey of 236 young people affected by the atrocity found that 29% had not had any psychological help, despite most feeling damaged by the blast six years ago.
Continue reading...Ellie Taylor, 15 at the time of 2017 terrorist attack, was shocked by how hard it was to obtain trauma counselling
Ellie Taylor had been looking forward to the Ariana Grande concert for months. It was a 15th birthday present from her mother and was perfectly timed – the day of her first GCSE exam. The date was 22 May 2017.
Ellie, now 21, recalls shards of memory from that appalling day. She remembers watching Martyn Hett “living his best life” as he danced in Block 103 – he was a stranger at the time but she later recognised his face on the news.
Continue reading...Bombing inquiry brings call from terror watchdog for franker approach at spy agency
Britain’s terror watchdog has called on the security services to ensure they promptly share any intelligence requested by MPs investigating the fallout of the Manchester Arena attack.
Last week’s public inquiry concluded that MI5 had missed a significant chance to take action that may have prevented the 2017 bombing that killed 22 people.
Continue reading...People who lost loved ones and their representatives speak out as MI5 is accused of a ‘devastating’ failure
Families of the victims of the Manchester Arena attack accused MI5 of a “devastating” failure after an official inquiry found the spy agency had missed a “significant opportunity” to stop the blast carried out by Salman Abedi. Here, they respond to the inquiry’s verdict:
Continue reading...Two pieces of pre-attack intelligence cannot be made public but it would be unwise to be overly critical of report
In a frustrating final report, the chair of the Manchester Arena inquiry half gets at the truth. Tasked with answering the most important question – could the suicide bombing at the Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017 have been prevented? – Sir John Saunders admits his approach will have “raised more questions” in the minds of the families of the 22 who lost their lives.
It is nearly six years since that tragedy and yet Saunders feels he cannot fully explain what were the two pieces of intelligence that MI5 obtained in early 2017 which, if acted upon, might have prevented Salman Abedi from carrying out the deadly attack. It was “a significant missed opportunity”, the inquiry concluded, but such is the British state’s addiction to secrecy it cannot be made public, even now.
Continue reading...Comments come as official inquiry finds agency missed ‘significant opportunity’ to prevent 2017 atrocity
The families of victims of the Manchester Arena attack accused MI5 of a “devastating” failure after an official inquiry found the agency missed a “significant opportunity” to stop the deadliest terror plot in Britain since the 7 July 2005 attacks in London.
A public inquiry led by Sir John Saunders concluded that there was a “realistic possibility” that the bomber could have been thwarted if the security services had acted more decisively on intelligence.
Continue reading...Parents’ extremist views and civil war in the country of their birth set Salman Abedi on path to terrorism
Although Salman Abedi was born in Manchester, on New Year’s Eve in 1994, his path to becoming one of the UK’s most deadly terrorists began in Libya, the country of his parents’ birth.
It was from there that Ramadan Abedi and Samia Tabbal fled in 1993, claiming asylum in the UK on the basis that they faced persecution under the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The couple went on to establish new lives in Fallowfield, south Manchester, with their children attending local schools.
Continue reading...Victim’s mother expects ‘catalogue of mistakes’ to be exposed in Sir John Saunders’ report on 2017 atrocity
The mother of a victim of the Manchester Arena attack has said she expects “a whole catalogue of mistakes” to be laid bare when a landmark report on the atrocity is published on Thursday.
MI5 is braced for criticism from the report, which will examine whether the deadliest terror attack in Britain since 7/7 could have been prevented.
Continue reading...Greater Manchester mayor says report into 2017 atrocity raises serious questions for whole of UK
The “poor leadership” of emergency services meant Manchester was not ready for the terrorist attack that killed 22 people in 2017, the region’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has said.
A damning inquiry report on the Manchester arena bombing identified significant failings by police, fire and ambulance services. At least one of those killed would probably have survived were it not for a response that was described as badly prepared, delayed and chaotic, it was found.
Continue reading...Chair of inquiry into the bombing said significant aspects of the emergency services’ response ‘went wrong’
Figen Murray, who lost her 29-year-old son Martyn Hett in the Manchester Arena bombing, said she wanted now to look forward and make sure the same mistakes never happened again.
Speaking outside Manchester magistrates court shortly after publication of Thursday’s inquiry report, Murray said: “Today we have learned about the failings of the emergency services. There’s no denying these failings led to a loss of life but I’m not here to play the blame game.
Continue reading...Stepfather Stuart Murray describes the fallout from his son’s death and his lasting legacy on their family
Dawn was breaking on 23 May 2017 when Stuart and Figen Murray turned up at the Etihad Stadium to register their son, Martyn Hett, as missing in the Manchester Arena attack. They were the first relatives to arrive at Manchester City’s ground, the muster point for those seeking loved ones who had been at the Ariana Grande concert the night before.
With no confirmed death toll from the suicide bomb that exploded after Grande’s finale, Stuart, Martyn’s stepdad, feared what might await them: “I just thought, ‘bloody hell, they must have hundreds of bodies laid out on the football pitch. Are we going to have to walk around these bodies to see if one of them is Martyn?’ At the same time, it was still early. I was thinking, he’s probably just gone awol. Martyn, when he went out, traditionally went astray. He once phoned us saying ‘I’ve fallen asleep on the train home to Stockport and woken up in Nottingham, what should I do?’. He was always losing his phone.”
Continue reading...Detectives found Salman Abedi had exchanged 1,300 text messages with another suspected terrorist in 2014
Intelligence that linked the Manchester Arena bomber to another suspected terrorist was uncovered by detectives three years before the 2017 bombing but was never passed on for further investigation, an inquiry has heard.
Detectives found the name, photo and phone number of Salman Abedi during an investigation into Abdalraouf Abdallah in 2014.
Continue reading...Martin Hibbert, who was 5 metres from the deadly explosion, is now tackling Africa’s highest mountain
It was a month after the Manchester Arena attack when Martin Hibbert learned the catastrophic toll of his injuries. He and his 14-year-old daughter, Eve, on a “daddy daughter day” to an Ariana Grande concert, were 5 metres from the explosion that killed 22 people and injured hundreds more in May 2017.
Hibbert, 45, from Chorley in Lancashire, was told he would never walk again. Eve would probably never see, hear, speak or move – if she made it out of hospital. They were the closest to the bomb to survive.
Continue reading...Salman Abedi was not stopped and questioned on return to UK from Libya, inquiry hears
A senior MI5 officer has accepted that stopping and questioning the Manchester Arena terrorist, Salman Abedi, when he returned to the UK from Libya could have led police to the bomb.
The inquiry being held into the atrocity, which killed 22 concertgoers and injured hundreds of others, was hearing evidence from an intelligence officer given the pseudonym Witness J.
Continue reading...Ismail Abedi had been ordered to attend hearing, as childhood friend arrested trying to leave country
The older brother of the Manchester Arena suicide bomber has left the UK and there is no indication of whether he will return in time to give evidence this week to the public inquiry into the atrocity, it has emerged.
The bomber’s childhood friend Ahmed Taghdi tried to leave the country on Monday as well but was arrested, the public inquiry was told on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Daren Buckley told armed police ‘somebody’s got to help’ people injured in Manchester Arena terror attack
A man has described attempting to give first aid to victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack but was told to leave by armed police, the independent public inquiry into the attack has heard.
Daren Buckley was leaving the Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017 with his son when the suicide bomb exploded, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds.
Continue reading...Lawyers point out series of failings in buildup to bombing that killed 22 and injured hundreds
A series of “unacceptable and unjustified” security failures occurred before the Manchester Arena bombing, the public inquiry into the attack has been told.
The inquiry heard lawyers’ closing statements on chapter seven, relating to security at the venue. The arena is operated by SMG, who employed the company Showsec to provide security and stewarding services there.
Continue reading...Evidence given that Saffie-Rose Roussos and John Atkinson could have survived with ‘different’ emergency service response
Firefighters did not arrive at Manchester Arena until two hours after the suicide bombing, only one paramedic entered the blast scene in the first 40 minutes, and Greater Manchester police (GMP) did not declare a major incident until the following day, the inquiry into the terror attack has heard.
The Manchester Arena inquiry, which resumed on Monday, moved to examine the response of the emergency services to the tragedy.
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