Soldiers on the streets
PM SAYS ARMY WILL BE DEPLOYED TO HELP POLICE PROTECT PUBLIC
SOLDIERS are to be deployed at concerts and sports events as the UK terror threat level has been raised to ‘critical’ - the highest level.
Military personnel will support police in protecting the public, Prime Minister Theresa May has said, amid fears a further attack is not just likely, but imminent.
It comes as speculation mounts that homegrown suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, was part of an active terror cell.
The Prime Minister said: “The work undertaken throughout the day has revealed that it’s a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack.”
The news came almost 24 hours after the Manchester Arena massacre - following a day in which the human toll of the worst-ever atrocity to hit the city mounted, and the world reeled in shock.
But amid the grief, confusion and swift police action, the determination of ordinary Mancunians not to give in to evil shone through.
A total of 22 victims - including an eight-year-old girl - were confirmed dead after a bomb went off at American pop star Ariana Grande’s sellout show.
Another 120 people have been confirmed as injured - some to a life-threatening degree - after a suicide bomber detonated an improvised device at the end of a concert filled with young people.
A vigil held at Albert Square on Tuesday night attracted thousands. Attendees included the city’s political, civic and faith leaders, John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, and John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons.
There was a ripple of applause, and shouts of ‘Manchester, Manchester’ from the crowd, some of whom held home-made signs declaring their love for the city, as the emotional, defiant event drew to a close.
The lone bomber - who died at the scene - has been named as Salman Abedi from Fallowfield.
It is the worst terrorist incident of its type on UK soil since extremists targeted London’s transport network in 2005.
On Tuesday so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, as police staged two fastmoving raids at addresses in south Manchester, brought in one suspect, and confirmed the identity of the bomber.
Police blasted off the door of a home on Elsmore Road - on the housing estate off Wilbraham Road, Fallowfield - where Salman Abedi is registered to. Armed officers also raided an address at Carlton Road, Whalley Range. A 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with the investigation, reportedly close to Morrisons supermarket in Chorlton.
The police investigation is trying to establish if Abedi was a ‘lone wolf’ - or part of a wider terror network.
The North West Ambulance Service has confirmed twelve children under the age of 16 were among 59 casualties admitted to eight different hospitals in the aftermath. Some were last night fighting for life in intensive care units.
Morning commuters were met by a cordon that closed off access to Victoria Station, which is adjacent to the Manchester Arena, disrupting travel across the city centre.
By the afternoon road closures had been extended to High Street, at the opposite end of Market Street.
Amid the grief and uncertainty, wellwishers rushed to donate blood to help the afflicted. Stories of the heroism and kindness of witnesses and officials emerged.
MI5’s chief, Andrew Parker, has condemned the attack as disgusting - and said the security service was ‘relentlessly focussed’ on keeping the country safe.
Confusion, disruption and secruity concerns gripped Manchester city centre in the hours after the attack, with police advising people to stay out of town.
The Royal Exchange and the Arndale Centre were both evacuated. A man was arrested at the Arndale, causing panic among shoppers but police said it was not connected to the bombing.
Armed police patrolled the Trafford Centre and Manchester city centre as workers were seen crying in the streets.
Wellwishers left flowers in St Ann’s Square, while Harvey Nichols closed its doors amid concerns about customer safety. Selfridges, which is close to the scene of the catastrophe, was also shut. Take That, who were due to play at the Arena on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, announced they were putting back the shows ‘out of respect.’
Fans of Ariana Grande were leaving the venue at about 10.30pm on Monday when they heard the explosion. Smoke filled the venue and blood streaked the floors as panicked and wounded concertgoers fled to safety.
Mobile phone footage captured and released by witnesses showed the disturbing moments after the bomb. Screaming fans ran over rows chairs and vaulted barriers, others were trampled and lost shoes and handbags in the chaos.
Some victims lost their lives at the scene, others at the hospitals they were rushed to by paramedics. Sixty ambulances rushed to attend, with staff attending to about 60 ‘walking wounded’ in the city centre and crews from as far away as Wales and the East Midlands joining the effort.
Another 59 of the injured were treated in hospitals. Medics of all disciplines worked through the night.
Among the dead was eight-yearold Saffie Rose Roussos from Tarleton. She was at the show with her mother and sister, who are believed to have been injured by shrapnel.
John Atkinson, 28, from Radcliffe, also died. Georgina Callander, an 18-year-old Ariana Grande ‘superfan’ from Leyland, Lancashire, was first of the dead to be named.
The Queen said in a statement that the whole country was ‘shocked’ by the ‘dreadful event.’ Expressing her sympathy to the families of the dead and injured, she thanked emergency services for their ‘professionalism and care’ and praised the people of Manchester for ‘responding with humanity and compassion to this act of barbarity.’
General election campaigning was suspended. Prime Minister Theresa May made a speech on Downing Street condemning the “appalling, sickening cowardice” of the bomber after a Cobra meeting with cabinet members, senior civil servants and police, which Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham attended via videolink.
In her speech, the Prime Minister confirmed 400 police officers had worked through the night - and that ‘significant resources’ would be deployed to the investigation.
During her time in the city, the Prime Minister visited Manchester Royal Infirmary, where injured children were receiving specialist care, and signed a book of condolence at Manchester town hall.
US President Donald Trump condemned terrorists as ‘evil losers in life’ following the news. And celebrities joined with the public in expressing their shock and revulsion on social media. One minute’s silence was held at the Cannes film festival, and Ariana Grande, who escaped unharmed, has described herself as ‘broken.’