Britain rallies to stand strong against hate
THIS scene in the centre of Manchester was matched by vigils across Britain yesterday.
Here they crammed into Albert Square, a historic piazza in front of the city’s town hall.
Some wept, others cheered or clapped, while a few chanted the football songs of the city’s two great football teams.
But all were determined to show solidarity with the victims and their families – and show that love and unity could triumph over bigotry and hate. Home secretary Amber Rudd, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham were among thousands who turned up to express their defiance and compassion.
Villagers also shed tears in Tarleton, near Leyland, Lancs, as the friends and family of eight-year-old Saffie Roussos and Georgina Callander, 18, who used to live nearby and died in the atrocity, released eight pink balloons, laid flowers and lit candles in their honour.
Georgina’s mum Lesley hugged loved ones tightly as she laid a single yellow flower in memory of her daughter.
As the vigil drew to a close Ariana Grande’s single Put Your Hearts Up was played through a sound system in memory of those who never returned from the singer’s concert.
Bishop of Burnley John Goddard told the gathered masses that what should have been a joyous occasion had turned into a killing field.
He added: “I know my Islamic friends will only see what happened last night as a total corruption of their own faith.”
In Albert Square, Greater Manchester Police’s Ian Hopkins captured the mood by saying: “I cannot begin to imagine how anyone can carry out such an unthinkable act – murdering 22 people and injuring many more.”