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| Manchester bombing: officer among dead as police confirm they are investigating 'network' – live updates | Manchester bombing: officer among dead as police confirm they are investigating 'network' – live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 4.42pm BST | |
| 16:42 | |
| Corbyn says Labour will resume campaigning because terrorism must not 'derail our democratic process' | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has said that Labour will resume campaigning later this week because terrorism must not “derail our democratic process”. He said: | |
| The British people are united in their resolve that terrorism will not prevail. It will not prevent us going about our daily lives, or derail our democratic process. Resuming democratic debate and campaigning is an essential mark of the country’s determination to defend our democracy, and the unity that the terrorists have sought to attack. | |
| 4.41pm BST | |
| 16:41 | |
| Another victim of Monday’s attack has been named as Michelle Kiss, 45, a mother of three. Her family has released this tribute: | |
| Michelle Kiss was a loving wife to Tony, mother to Dylan, Elliot and Millie, as well as daughter to Mick and Christine and sister to Nichola. | |
| She tragically died during the horrible event that occurred on Monday night. | |
| Family was her life and we are all obviously devastated by her loss. She has been taken away from us, and all that love her, in the most traumatic way imaginable. | |
| We hope to draw from the courage and strength she showed in her life to get through this extremely difficult time. | |
| 4.36pm BST | |
| 16:36 | |
| And the Green party are following the main parties in resuming campaigning locally tomorrow, and nationally on Friday, my colleague Peter Walker reports. | |
| Understand that the Greens will also get back to local campaigning tomorrow, with full campaign resuming from Friday. | |
| 4.33pm BST | |
| 16:33 | |
| The Conservatives will resume local campaigning tomorrow, and national campaigning on Friday, my colleague Heather Stewart reports. | |
| Tories will resume local campaign tomorrow, national activity on Friday, I'm told - echoing Labour approach. | |
| 4.32pm BST | |
| 16:32 | |
| Steve White, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, has put out a statement about the deployment of troops to help the police, saying it highlights the need for extra police funding. He said: | |
| As always, the response of emergency workers in the face of adversity has been second to none. The welcome support of the military to free up armed officers and offer public reassurance will no doubt be managed in the same professional, resolute way. But, as welcome as this is, we cannot avoid the reasons it is needed at all. There is no ignoring the fact that we, the police, simply do not have the resources to manage an event like this on our own. | |
| 4.28pm BST | |
| 16:28 | |
| Robert Booth | |
| A senior Muslim community leader in Manchester has said the Manchester Islamic Centre (MIC) has received reports of “anti-Muslim acts” ranging from verbal abuse to acts of criminal damage to mosques. | |
| Fawzi Haffar, a trustee of the MIC in Didsbury, where Salman Abedi, the Manchester Arena bomber is understood to have prayed, said: “We are concerned about reports we are receiving about anti-Muslim acts. These are terrible anti-Muslim acts ranging from verbal abuse to acts of criminal damage to mosques in the area and outside the area. We do encourage any incidents to be reported as a hate crime.” | |
| In a statement read outside the mosque, Haffar said the attack was a “horrific atrocity” and said “this act of cowardice has no place in our religion or any other religion”. | |
| “We encourage anyone who may have information about the person involved to contact the police without any delay.” | |
| He said it was not true that Abedi had worked at the centre and added: “We express concern that a small section of the media are manufacturing stories and making unfounded points.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.43pm BST | |
| 4.22pm BST | |
| 16:22 | |
| Helen Pidd | |
| Abedi was a pupil at Burnage Media Arts College (now Burnage Academy), an all- boys school in a deprived part of south Manchester for 11- to 16-year-olds. When he attended, between 2008 and 2011, more than 90% of pupils were from a range of minority ethnic groups and a fifth of students had a refugee background. Results were below the national average. | |
| In a statement, the school confirmed Abedi was an ex-pupil. The headteacher, Ian Fenn, said: “We are a Manchester school. We feel the pain that Manchester feels. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Mancunians against terrorism in all its forms. Our deepest condolences go to all who have been affected by this outrage.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.45pm BST | |
| 4.19pm BST | |
| 16:19 | |
| Heather Stewart | |
| Labour HQ has confirmed that it plans to return to the campaign trail on Friday, albeit in a low-key way. Local campaign activities, such as door-knocking and hand-delivery of leaflets, has already re-started in some constituencies, at the discretion of each individual candidate; but Labour will resume national events on Friday. | |
| Jeremy Corbyn has held a series of conversations with the prime minister about the issue of whether and when to resume campaigning, with both parties keen to balance the risk of appearing disrespectful, with a determination to demonstrate that Britain’s democratic processes are unhindered by the terrorist attack. | |
| Theresa May is set to press ahead with attending the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, and go on to Italy for a G7 meeting at the end of the week. | |
| Rather than return immediately to full-blown campaign mode, Corbyn is expected to hold an event on Friday in which he reflects on the tragic events of this week, before a phased return to full campaigning over the weekend. It is unclear whether the BBC’s planned Andrew Neil interview, originally scheduled for Friday night, will go ahead. | |
| Corbyn has held a series of talks with the prime minister about when full electoral hostilities resume, and he discussed the potential timetable in what insiders called a pep talk for Labour staff at the party’s headquarters on Wednesday. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.23pm BST | |
| 4.18pm BST | |
| 16:18 | |
| Former Manchester United player Eric Cantona has posted a heart-felt message of support for Mancunians in the wake of Monday’s terrorist attack: | |
| Eric Cantona's message to the people of Manchester #MUFC pic.twitter.com/4CFQ7rh5jN | |
| “My heart is with you. I always feel close to you,” he says. | |
| Updated | |
| at 4.20pm BST | |
| 4.13pm BST | |
| 16:13 | |
| Julian Borger | |
| The top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, has said that if US officials leaked critical details of the Manchester bombing investigation, it represents a “real problem” and that the British authorities “have every right to be furious with us.” | |
| “I don’t know what the source was. I can tell you it wasn’t from Congress because we haven’t been briefed,” Schiff, who is a driving force behind the congressional investigation into the Trump campaign’s links with Russia, said. “We would have had to obtain that information from the British because I don’t think we would have had it before they did, and we should have been very careful and respectful of the British investigation and the timing which the British felt was in their investigative interests in releasing that. That should have been their discretion, not ours. It that is something we did I think that’s a real problem.” | |
| Speaking at a press event organised by the Christian Science Monitor, Schiff added that the UK intelligence agencies “are going to want to provide the number of a bomber as soon as they have it as we may have information on that person and who their associates are that we don’t have. If we gave up information that has interfered in any way with their investigation because it tipped off people in Britain, perhaps associates of this person that we had identified as the bomber, that’s a real problem and they have every right to be furious.” | |
| Schiff said that he thought US-UK intelligence sharing was likely to withstand the incident simply because “we and the British are mutually dependent on each other.” | |
| But over the long term, the leaks were likely to damage intelligence sharing with US allies, he said. | |
| “Particularly when we get intelligence from a foreign partner, if there’s any compromise of that intelligence, then we’re going to discourage that partner from further cooperation and that may affect whether we get particular sensitive information. Of course it could dry up other human sources or technological sources,” Schiff said. | |
| 4.11pm BST | 4.11pm BST |
| 16:11 | 16:11 |
| Here’s a summary of where things stand in the wake of the Manchester concert attack: | |
| Detectives are investigating a suspected terror cell in connection the attack which left 22 people dead and 59 injured. Ian Hopkins, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said it was “very clear that this is a network that we are investigating” as armed raids continued across the city. US intelligence sources are reported to have said that the suicide bomber Salman Abedi, had help. | |
| Three more men were arrested in south Manchester in connection with the ongoing investigation into the attack and a flat was raided in the centre of the city after a controlled explosion was used to force entry. A 23-year-old man arrested on Tuesday, believed to be Ismail Abedi the brother of the bomber, is still being questioned. | |
| Salman Abedi’s father, who lives in Tripoli, insists his son is innocent. He also confirmed that Abedi travelled to Libya in the last six weeks. | |
| One of those detained overnight was identified by neighbours as Adel Forjani. He is said to be in his mid-40s and, like Abedi, from a Libyan family. The Libyan community in Manchester have condemned the attack. | |
| In messages posted online, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, but this has not been confirmed by officials investigating the blast. | |
| Twelve victims of the attack have now been named. They are: Jane Tweddle-Taylor, 51; Nell Jones, 14; Martyn Hett, 29; Angelika Klis, 40; Marcin Klis, 42; Georgina Callander, 18; Saffie Rose Roussos, eight; John Atkinson, 28; Kelly Brewster, 32; Olivia Campbell, 15; Alison Howe, 45; and Lisa Lees, 47. All the victims will be named when post-mortems have been completed over the next four or five days, Hopkins sad. | |
| An unnamed female officer from Cheshire constabulary also died in the attack. She was attending the concert with her husband who was critically injured in the blast. | |
| Twenty people remain in “critical care” across Manchester. Injuries include major organ damage and potential loss of limbs, according to Jon Rouse, of the Greater Manchester health and social care partnership. | |
| The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has confirmed that Abedi was known to the security services. Her French counterpart, Gerard Collomb, revealed that Abedi had travelled to Libya and probably Syria, and had proven links with Islamic State, citing information from British investigators. | |
| Rudd criticised the Americans for revealing Abedi’s identity. She said: “The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise. So it is irritating if it gets released from other sources and I have been very clear with our friends that should not happen again. | |
| Almost 1,000 troops are being deployed to Britain streets after the terrorist threat level was raised to critical for the first time since July 2007. Troops have replaced police guards at No 10 Downing Street, parliament and Buckingham Palace, and elsewhere around London. The changing of the guard ceremony at the palace has been cancelled. | |
| 4.11pm BST | |
| 16:11 | |
| Severin Carrell | Severin Carrell |
| Scotland’s chief constable, Phil Gormley, has confirmed the army will not be used immediately to help his force cope with the heightened anti-terrorism alert but said he is keeping infantry support in reserve. | Scotland’s chief constable, Phil Gormley, has confirmed the army will not be used immediately to help his force cope with the heightened anti-terrorism alert but said he is keeping infantry support in reserve. |
| Police Scotland and the Scottish government previously failed to set out their position on using of troops when Theresa May, the prime minister, revealed on Tuesday that the army would be mobilised to provide static guards at high profile sites in London, including the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street. | Police Scotland and the Scottish government previously failed to set out their position on using of troops when Theresa May, the prime minister, revealed on Tuesday that the army would be mobilised to provide static guards at high profile sites in London, including the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street. |
| Other English forces, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, have both announced they also want military aid as part of Operation Temperer. But Scottish police leaders said on Wednesday that would be resisted in Scotland. | Other English forces, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, have both announced they also want military aid as part of Operation Temperer. But Scottish police leaders said on Wednesday that would be resisted in Scotland. |
| Gormley told BBC Radio Scotland’s lunchtime news his force was fully equipped to cope with the critical threat level, because there had been “significant uplift” in armed policing. That included posting armed police at the Scottish FA cup final at Hampden on Saturday and at railway stations and other public venues. | Gormley told BBC Radio Scotland’s lunchtime news his force was fully equipped to cope with the critical threat level, because there had been “significant uplift” in armed policing. That included posting armed police at the Scottish FA cup final at Hampden on Saturday and at railway stations and other public venues. |
| He said using the army to free up police resources was “a sensible contingency”. | He said using the army to free up police resources was “a sensible contingency”. |
| It’s been carefully planned for over a number of months and years. We have made the investments here in terms of armed officer numbers, to be able to support that, and we have got very well advanced and detailed plans should we need to move to that position. | It’s been carefully planned for over a number of months and years. We have made the investments here in terms of armed officer numbers, to be able to support that, and we have got very well advanced and detailed plans should we need to move to that position. |
| Calum Steele, chief executive of the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said it opposed deploying the army. Although the SPF had complained about insufficient armed officer numbers, using troops ran against Scotland’s policing traditions of independence from government and legal accountability. | Calum Steele, chief executive of the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said it opposed deploying the army. Although the SPF had complained about insufficient armed officer numbers, using troops ran against Scotland’s policing traditions of independence from government and legal accountability. |
| He said: | He said: |
| There can be no doubt that a civilian police force accountable to the courts and the rule of law and not subject to political influence or direction delivers that. | There can be no doubt that a civilian police force accountable to the courts and the rule of law and not subject to political influence or direction delivers that. |
| Regardless of what’s said about military personnel being available under the direction of the chief constable, that doesn’t mean that they’re accountable in the same way as police officers. Military personnel can be directed by a government. The principle is that the military should not be deployed. | Regardless of what’s said about military personnel being available under the direction of the chief constable, that doesn’t mean that they’re accountable in the same way as police officers. Military personnel can be directed by a government. The principle is that the military should not be deployed. |
| Policing is first and foremost a civilian role. Whether you agree or not police officers guarantee fundamental freedoms of citizens. | Policing is first and foremost a civilian role. Whether you agree or not police officers guarantee fundamental freedoms of citizens. |
| . When our freedoms & democracy comes under attack it is more vital than ever that rights are safeguarded | . When our freedoms & democracy comes under attack it is more vital than ever that rights are safeguarded |
| . Fully accountable police officers answerable to the law provide those safeguards and whilst not questioning soldiers professionalism | . Fully accountable police officers answerable to the law provide those safeguards and whilst not questioning soldiers professionalism |
| . The undeniable fact is they are subject to political direction and do not come close to the same levels of accountability as police | . The undeniable fact is they are subject to political direction and do not come close to the same levels of accountability as police |
| 3.47pm BST | 3.47pm BST |
| 15:47 | 15:47 |
| Jeremy Corbyn plans to relaunch Labour national campaigning with a speech on Friday, PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield reports. | Jeremy Corbyn plans to relaunch Labour national campaigning with a speech on Friday, PoliticsHome’s Kevin Schofield reports. |
| BREAKING Jeremy Corbyn tells staff at Labour HQ that local campaigning will resume tomorrow, with the national campaign re-starting Friday. | BREAKING Jeremy Corbyn tells staff at Labour HQ that local campaigning will resume tomorrow, with the national campaign re-starting Friday. |
| Jeremy Corbyn will re-start Labour's national campaign with a speech on Friday on democracy, I'm told. | Jeremy Corbyn will re-start Labour's national campaign with a speech on Friday on democracy, I'm told. |
| Some Labour candidates have already been engaged in low-level campaigning. Mike Gapes, who is seeking re-election as MP for Ilford South, posted this on Twitter last night. | Some Labour candidates have already been engaged in low-level campaigning. Mike Gapes, who is seeking re-election as MP for Ilford South, posted this on Twitter last night. |
| We must not allow murderous terrorists to undermine our democratic society. I will be resuming political campaigning tomorrow morning. | We must not allow murderous terrorists to undermine our democratic society. I will be resuming political campaigning tomorrow morning. |
| This morning he explained he was just delivering leaflets today. | This morning he explained he was just delivering leaflets today. |
| Local leafletting. Hustings tonight has been cancelled. https://t.co/6Vcnm5HLJX | Local leafletting. Hustings tonight has been cancelled. https://t.co/6Vcnm5HLJX |
| Ben Bradshaw, who is seeking re-election as MP for Exeter, has adopted the same approach. | Ben Bradshaw, who is seeking re-election as MP for Exeter, has adopted the same approach. |
| My @UKLabour colleague @MikeGapes right as usual. Tomorrow I'll be out talking to the people of Exeter, as I do most other days of my life. https://t.co/eWHbgK54UP | My @UKLabour colleague @MikeGapes right as usual. Tomorrow I'll be out talking to the people of Exeter, as I do most other days of my life. https://t.co/eWHbgK54UP |
| 3.46pm BST | 3.46pm BST |
| 15:46 | 15:46 |
| Here’s the full statement from Hopkins, minus the revealing answers about a “network” at the end. | Here’s the full statement from Hopkins, minus the revealing answers about a “network” at the end. |
| Latest statement from @ccianhopkins in relation to the incident at the Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/9z0YKnBfEf | Latest statement from @ccianhopkins in relation to the incident at the Manchester Arena pic.twitter.com/9z0YKnBfEf |
| 3.42pm BST | 3.42pm BST |
| 15:42 | 15:42 |
| Nazia Parveen | Nazia Parveen |
| The father of Salman Abedi, the Manchester Arena suicide bomber, fought against the Gaddafi regime with a group that was designated a terrorist organisation by the US, according to a man who says he fought alongside him. | The father of Salman Abedi, the Manchester Arena suicide bomber, fought against the Gaddafi regime with a group that was designated a terrorist organisation by the US, according to a man who says he fought alongside him. |
| Salman Abedi, 22, who was known to the British security services, is thought to have returned from Libya as recently as this week. His parents, who escaped the Gaddafi regime in the early 1990s and fled to the UK, now live in the Libyan city of Tripoli. Their youngest son, Hashmi, is also believed to be with them in Libya. | Salman Abedi, 22, who was known to the British security services, is thought to have returned from Libya as recently as this week. His parents, who escaped the Gaddafi regime in the early 1990s and fled to the UK, now live in the Libyan city of Tripoli. Their youngest son, Hashmi, is also believed to be with them in Libya. |
| Abedi was born in Manchester and grew up in a tight-knit Libyan community that was known for its strong opposition to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. | Abedi was born in Manchester and grew up in a tight-knit Libyan community that was known for its strong opposition to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. |
| His father, Ramadan Abedi, fought against the Gaddafi regime during the Libyan revolution in 2001 with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. The US state department says that elements of LIFG were aligned with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, and designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 2004. | His father, Ramadan Abedi, fought against the Gaddafi regime during the Libyan revolution in 2001 with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. The US state department says that elements of LIFG were aligned with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, and designated the group a foreign terrorist organisation in 2004. |
| Ramadan, a security officer, and his wife Samia Tabbal, 50, were both born in Tripoli but appear to have emigrated to London before moving to Whalley Range in south Manchester, where they had lived for at least a decade. | Ramadan, a security officer, and his wife Samia Tabbal, 50, were both born in Tripoli but appear to have emigrated to London before moving to Whalley Range in south Manchester, where they had lived for at least a decade. |
| Akram Ramadan, 49, who fought with Ramadan Abedi in the Libyan revolution, said he was passionate about overthrowing a regime that had “displaced thousands of his brethren”. | Akram Ramadan, 49, who fought with Ramadan Abedi in the Libyan revolution, said he was passionate about overthrowing a regime that had “displaced thousands of his brethren”. |
| “It was something we all felt we had to do. Some were more radical than others but we all shared a common cause,” he added. | “It was something we all felt we had to do. Some were more radical than others but we all shared a common cause,” he added. |
| Salman, who was born in 1994, was the second youngest of four children. The imam at Didsbury mosque last night said that Salman, who wore Islamic dress, had shown him “the face of hate” when he gave a talk warning of the dangers of Islamic State. | Salman, who was born in 1994, was the second youngest of four children. The imam at Didsbury mosque last night said that Salman, who wore Islamic dress, had shown him “the face of hate” when he gave a talk warning of the dangers of Islamic State. |
| Abedi’s older brother, Ismail, 23, had been a tutor at the mosque’s madrassa teaching children the Qur’an. Ismail’s flat, which he shared with his wife, Salha, in Whalley Range was raided hours after the suicide bomb. It is understood Ismail has been arrested. | Abedi’s older brother, Ismail, 23, had been a tutor at the mosque’s madrassa teaching children the Qur’an. Ismail’s flat, which he shared with his wife, Salha, in Whalley Range was raided hours after the suicide bomb. It is understood Ismail has been arrested. |
| Abedi went to school locally and in 2014 on to Salford University, where he studied business management before dropping out. His trips to Libya, where his parents returned in 2011 following Gaddafi’s overthrow, are now subject to scrutiny over possible links to jihadis. | Abedi went to school locally and in 2014 on to Salford University, where he studied business management before dropping out. His trips to Libya, where his parents returned in 2011 following Gaddafi’s overthrow, are now subject to scrutiny over possible links to jihadis. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.48pm BST | at 3.48pm BST |
| 3.35pm BST | 3.35pm BST |
| 15:35 | 15:35 |
| Helen Pidd | Helen Pidd |
| Adam Prince, a member of the residents’ association in the Granby House block of flats which was raided today, said the property broken into by police had been rented out as an Airbnb. The owner, a woman in her 50s, would be “devastated”, he said. | Adam Prince, a member of the residents’ association in the Granby House block of flats which was raided today, said the property broken into by police had been rented out as an Airbnb. The owner, a woman in her 50s, would be “devastated”, he said. |
| Prince, 38, said there had been recent complaints by residents about a large number of big parcels – at least 10 – delivered to the block and left hanging around in the postroom, but said he didn’t know who they were addressed to. They could be unconnected to the raided flat. | Prince, 38, said there had been recent complaints by residents about a large number of big parcels – at least 10 – delivered to the block and left hanging around in the postroom, but said he didn’t know who they were addressed to. They could be unconnected to the raided flat. |
| He said there had been a steady stream of Airbnb guests and didn’t know who had been there most recently. | He said there had been a steady stream of Airbnb guests and didn’t know who had been there most recently. |
| The raided property is number 39. The door had been blown in, said Prince. Police officers and a team of forensics officers were putting items in evidence bags on Wednesday afternoon. | The raided property is number 39. The door had been blown in, said Prince. Police officers and a team of forensics officers were putting items in evidence bags on Wednesday afternoon. |
| The Manchester police chief, Ian Hopkins, confirmed a controlled explosion was used to raid a flat in the centre of the city this afternoon. | The Manchester police chief, Ian Hopkins, confirmed a controlled explosion was used to raid a flat in the centre of the city this afternoon. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.42pm BST | at 3.42pm BST |
| 3.33pm BST | 3.33pm BST |
| 15:33 | 15:33 |
| Josh Halliday | Josh Halliday |
| Detectives are investigating a suspected terror cell in connection with the Manchester Arena suicide bombing. | Detectives are investigating a suspected terror cell in connection with the Manchester Arena suicide bombing. |
| Ian Hopkins, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said it was “very clear that this is a network that we are investigating” as arrests and armed raids continued across the city. | Ian Hopkins, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said it was “very clear that this is a network that we are investigating” as arrests and armed raids continued across the city. |
| The statement is the strongest official confirmation that Salman Adebi, 23, did not act alone when he blew himself up at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night, killing 22 people including an eight-year-old girl. | The statement is the strongest official confirmation that Salman Adebi, 23, did not act alone when he blew himself up at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night, killing 22 people including an eight-year-old girl. |
| There will be further questions for the intelligence agencies if it is confirmed that a Manchester-based terror cell was involved in planning the attack, which experts have said would have required sophisticated bomb-making knowledge. | There will be further questions for the intelligence agencies if it is confirmed that a Manchester-based terror cell was involved in planning the attack, which experts have said would have required sophisticated bomb-making knowledge. |
| Speaking outside Greater Manchester police headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, Hopkins said: “We are carrying out extensive searches at premises across Manchester. | Speaking outside Greater Manchester police headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, Hopkins said: “We are carrying out extensive searches at premises across Manchester. |
| “I think it’s very clear that this is a network that we are investigating and it continues at pace and there’s extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester.” | “I think it’s very clear that this is a network that we are investigating and it continues at pace and there’s extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester.” |
| His statement followed three arrests in south Manchester and a dramatic raid involving armed officers in military style uniform on a city centre apartment block at lunchtime on Wednesday . | His statement followed three arrests in south Manchester and a dramatic raid involving armed officers in military style uniform on a city centre apartment block at lunchtime on Wednesday . |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.37pm BST | at 3.37pm BST |