Obama: These men of evil will be brought to justice

FORMER US president Barack Obama last night vowed that the terrorists behind the Manchester attack would be brought to justice.

Speaking to business leaders in Edinburgh, Mr Obama paid tribute to all those killed or injured by the blast, saying they were in his ‘thoughts and prayers’.

He then said: ‘I am convinced the perpetrators of this act will ultimately be brought to justice and the networks will be dismantled.

‘And I know this not simply because of the valour of our military and law enforcement personnel but because I know the character of our peoples.’

Despite insisting a ‘strong, united Europe is a necessity for the world’, he declined to comment on either calls for a second independence referendum or the Brexit process.

Questioned by Sir Tom Hunter, who had organised the event, on how best to combat Islamist terrorism, he said: ‘This is not something we are going to be able to solve perfectly.

‘There is a lot of poison on the internet. There are a lot of weakminded people or psychotic people or troubled people.’

He urged the audience not to allow terrorism to make British society more intolerant but instead to continue as normal.

Mr Obama said he realised that this would bring ‘no solace’ to families of the victims of Monday’s atrocity. He added: ‘I have two daughters who go to concerts and I cannot imagine what those families are going through right now.’

Before he spoke, schoolgirl Mila Stricevic read a poem she wrote called ‘If I Ruled Scotland’.

The 13-year-old, who won a contest to perform for the former president, started her poem with: ‘If I ruled Scotland, here’s what I would do. I’d make everything equal for me and you. I’d educate Scotland in hope and peace and make all the minorities feel at ease.’

Mr Obama opened his remarks with jokes about the unusually good weather. To laughs, he also revealed that he had been given a kilt as a gift but wasn’t wearing it because his ‘legs are too skinny’.

The former president said he would like to come back as he wouldn’t feel he had experienced Scotland properly until he had been here when it was ‘rainy and blustery’.