the picture there? we had a briefing from a senior official at north west ambulance service and a senior health official here in greater manchester summing up the nhs response across the region. those 59 patients are spread across eight hospitals, nine are here at manchester royal. we asked how many of them were children, how many were adults. they were not able to confirm that, or say much more but we know 12 are at royal manchester children's hospital and there is at least one of the trial at another hospital. they pay tribute to the emergency services in what they said was a terrible night for manchester. they expressed their condolences for the bereaved, but said there had been a veryjoined up plan put into action. they had, in effect, written the plan beforehand. they talked of getting documents out and enacting it very quickly in terms of coordinating ambulance help from other parts of northern england, getting doctors and nurses into

hospitals. there were 60 vehicles deployed with paramedics, about 300 staff were involved overnight. they said some of the 59 are seriously ill. they wouldn't say how many. some are in intensive care and they say some may be in hospitalfor a long time yet and they made a sort of plea, if you like, to local people that these hospitals will be under a certain amount of pressure and strain in the days and weeks ahead and people should respect that before going to a&e and only do that if they particularly needed it. well, part of the tragedy of what happened here last night at the arena is that there were so many young people there at that concert by ariana grande and the singer, who has so many young fans, has tweeted that she is "broken", "from the

bottom of my heart." the manchester arena is the biggest pop venue of its kind in the city. it has a capacity of 21,000. some of the biggest names in pop and rock perform here. our entertainment correspondent reports now on the response to the tragedy here of the entertainment and music industry. it was a situation with which any parent could identify. dropping your children off at an event they've been looking forward to for months and coming back to pick them up a couple of hours' later. they'd come to see ariana grande's dangerous woman tour but ended up being the ones in danger. members of an audience which became the target of a terrorist attack. the singer made her name as a children's tv star and still attracts a very young, predominantly female fan base. many in the crowd were pre—teens, some as young as seven or eight. entertainment stars expressed their horror at the night's event.

it shocks me every time we hear this sort of news, that attacks like this can happen, but especially when there will be so many children at this concert tonight. we'll all go to bed holding our little ones even tighter this evening. last year, time magazine named ariana grande as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet, highlighting her 150 million social media followers and the role it plays in attracting her young fans. it was with a tweet she communicated after the attack, simply saying, "broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so, so, sorry, i don't have words." now the world of music is using the same platform to voice their support, both for her and the city of manchester. taylor swift says she is offering her thoughts and prayers and tears for all those affected by the manchester tragedy. harry styles described himself as "heart broken"

over what happened. a sentiment shared by katy perry who says she is broken hearted for the families and broken hearted for ariana grande. and those stars can picture exactly where the attack took place because the manchester arena is the second—largest indoor music venue in europe, and their world tours all take them there. tomorrow night take that were due to play the first of three homecoming gigs in the venue. now it's a crime scene. harvey goldsmith, the promoter behind live aid says last night's attack has huge implications for the live music market. the most vulnerable point is on the exit and, therefore, i presume all the arenas and promoters together will review how to deal with people leaving concerts but if it's outside the concert area, the arena itself, where the concert takes place, if it is on the way out, it is very difficult to do much more than has been done now. it is believed that ariana grande

will cancel the remaining european dates of her tour, which was scheduled to reach london tomorrow. the former child star is now having to deal with the most adult of situations. manchester is a city still coming to terms with lasts night. theresa may has paid tribute to the city. she said this morning, the cowardice of the attacker was met by the bravery of the emergency services and of the people of manchester. danjohnson reports now. manchester's streets, busy with shoppers. some shocked, some sad but

determined. absolutely defiant. there is nobody in this world that will keep us away of coming to the centre of manchester, it's vibrancy, it's metropolitan feeling, it's fantastic, no amount of evilness will ever, ever dampen any good thought there is about manchester. greater manchester's new mayor shared their pride and defiance.” wa nt shared their pride and defiance.” want it thank the people of manchester. even if the minute after the attack, they opened their doors to strangers and drove them away from danger. they gave the best—possible, immediate response to those who seek to divide us. and it'll be that spirit of manchester that will prevail and hold us together. there were so many offers together. there were so many offers to donate blood. this morning they had to turn people away. obviously, with the tragedy that has happened, if we can help in that way, that would be beneficial. so, it would be

nice, you know, to do something to help. i really wanted to come down and see if i could help at all. such and see if i could help at all. such a massive tragedy. an overwhelming response on social media. i thought i would come down and try to give blood. do my bit. last night, an inp stintive reaction from the city's cab drivers, not to run from danger but to help others find their familiar lane it offer them lifts home i havejust familiar lane it offer them lifts home i have just come down to see if anyone needed a lift homef home i have just come down to see if anyone needed a lift home f they we re anyone needed a lift home f they were stranded or lost or anything. asa were stranded or lost or anything. as a good citizen, it's the time where everyone needs to come together. trying to come down to help the people get home, free of charge, without worry being paying to get home. this city has felt destruction before. an ira bomb exploded at the arndale shopping centre in 1996, injuring hundreds of people, just yards from last night's attack. this post box was about the

only thing that. the city centre has been rebuilt around it, it is a reminder of the strength and resilience of the city and it is that same spirit that people are relying on here today. and this evening, people will come together in the city centre to show their support in a vigil. tough, gritty resolve is a natural response here, but it's certainly being tested. i'm joined by our correspondent robert hall who has been following developments. we have named today what of the fatalities georgina callender on left, believed to be 18 and saffie roussos, just eight, it is heartbreak the age of victims.” roussos, just eight, it is

heartbreak the age of victims. i can read you a statement from chris upton, the headteacher at the primary school, she said "she was a beautiful girl, loved by everyone. her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly." briefly, something else that is happening as we stand here. the police operation, we stand here. the police operation, we have been talking about it. we know that the police knew the identity of attacker, bebelieve he may be british—born, certainly a british resident. there are a number of police operations under way. we understand a number of arrests and we understand there are more to come. statement from the police imnt na. we have been hearing -- imminent. we have been hearing about the extraordinary response here in manchester of the emergency service, paramedics, ordinary members of the public coming to help those lost or stranded. theresa may talked about it. people coming together. people coming out of hotels and buildings to ca re coming out of hotels and buildings to care for the injured and help them out, to get the children to

places of safety. taxi drivers driving from as far away as liverpool to take people home. that spirit is spreading on into the city. i think we'll see it again at the vigil at 6.00pm tonight in the main square. a vigil to remember the victims this evening, full coverage, of course on bbc news. let's pause now and get a look at the weather prospects with nick miller. dry settled weather across the uk as the high pressure is established. temperatures set to go up as the week goes on. not everywhere seeing the sunshine. cloud across south wales and south—west england where for some it is damp and drizzly. it is misty and murky in places. cloud will increase in northern ireland and scotland and in western scotland we'll see outbreaks of rain. at 4.00pm, plenty of cloud in south—west england and wales. inland it might break up a bit, and get a bit brighter. around the coast

staying misty and murky. some sunny spells in the south—east. across north wales, the midlands, parts of east anglia into northern england some of us seeing sunshine, temperatures into the low 20s. increasing cloud for northern ireland and scotland where we have a good deal of sunshine around. from that cloud, across western parts of scotland, eventually seeing outbreaks of rain, for northern and eastern scotland the odd shower showing up for a time. overnight, mainly west scotland where we'll continue with outbreaks of rain and so much patchy fog and fog around in some areas. tomorrow if you start with cloud, you may brighten up and seeshine, if you start sunny you will see patchy cloud building. the vast majority will be dry although still some outbreaks of rain in north—west scotland heading through the northern isles. in the sunshine it'll feel warmer, compared with today. temperatures widely i think in the 20s, some spots into the mid—20s, asi

in the 20s, some spots into the mid—20s, as i mentioned earlier, the temperatures head up further as we go through the rest of the week, until at least the start of the weekend, with plenty ofshine. i shall show you the picture for thursday. here it is, a good deal of sunshine around. a little bit more humid, though, the temperaturesjust creeping up. a little bit further and some spots edging into the upper 20s. upper 20s for friday and into at least the start of the weekend, near 30. perhaps above for a time, this area of high pressure pushes away to the east, we drag in warmer airfrom the away to the east, we drag in warmer air from the continent. more humidity with that. that is, in theshine which will lead it temperatures soaring. again into the start of the weekend, temperatures at 30, perhaps above but uncertain, showery, under thisry breakdown, an uncertain showery thupdry coming in from the west at some stage through the weekend. we'll keep you updated. here is the forecast for where you are and where you are going, as ever. are and where you are going, as ever. nick, thank you. let me show

you live pictures of the prime minister arriving here in manchester. she's going to be talking to the chief constable of greater manchester police and other senior police commanders here. senior police commanders greater manchester police and other senior police commanders here. they will carry out the investigation into the atrocity last night at the manchester irina that left 22 people dead —— manchester arena that left 22 people dead and 59 people injured. the prime minister's already described it as a "callous" attack on defenceless people. we know that many of the people killed and injured were young people. two of those who've been named were eight years old and 18 years' old. just giving you an idea of the ages of those who were only at manchester arena when the suicide bomber detonated his device. well that's the latest from here in manchester city centre. more throughout the day on bbc news. but now, it is time for the news

iam i am annita mcvey continuing our coverage of the manchester attacks. a short time ago dr david ratcliffe from the north west ambulance service gave this update on those who were being treated... 59 people being treated at eight hospitals around manchester including nine here at the manchester royal infirmary and 12 children at the manchester children's hospital. that does perhaps be a clarification that those 12 children are all under the age of 16. we know there's at least one child at another hospital as well but beyond that, we did not get any sort of breakdown of the number

of adults and children who are currently being treated after being injured in last night's attack. john said if ever you wanted to have a sense of one hs, this has been the night and the morning to experience that. bat—mac only nhs. he gave his deep condolences to the families of those killed, injured and he said that it has been a terrible night for those families and a terrible morning although we have also seen some of the best aspects of greater manchester and its people. we had this update from doctor david radcliffe. the royal infirmary, which is the hospital behind me, it received nine patients. these are patients that we took by ambulance, there were also walking wounded. salford royal foundation trust, another trauma centre, received six patients. royal manchester children's hospital received the most patients, they received 12 patients. the university hospital south manchester received six patients. stepping hill hospital in stockport received six patients. bolton hospital received eight patients.

oldham hospital, the royal oldham hospital received seven patients and north manchester hospital received five patients. there were also a good number of walking wounded. well after the attack last night we had seen a huge response from people wanting to donate blood and a chief nurse wanting to donate blood and a chief nurse joins wanting to donate blood and a chief nursejoins me from wanting to donate blood and a chief nurse joins me from the wanting to donate blood and a chief nursejoins me from the nhs. jane, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. on this incredibly busy day for your service. i know first you want to thank the people who have made the effort to donate blood. yes, like other services we are working to support the hospitals across manchester after this dreadful incident and our thoughts are with those directly affected by that. we have had an overwhelming response from the public in response toa response from the public in response to a need to do something. and i would really like to thank more

sincerely the people of manchester and actor with a wider north—west to have come up today to try and give blood and many of whom have actually done that. but now you want to manage that responds? yes, it is important for the public to understand our blood stocks are doing well, they are healthy, we are not concerned about them. we are able to supply to any hospital now in this area and across the country and anything that is required for patients. but we would now like to move patients. but we would now like to m ove o nto patients. but we would now like to move onto another request for all of those people who came forward today that were unable to delete. and that is? we would just like them to hold the thought. if the devil incident in manchester last night has motivated somebody to consider donation for the first time or perhaps they have been a donor in the past and not done that for quite some time, we would like them to do is that motivation to go online, download our up, register to become a donor and try to find an appointment, summer that suits them,

over the next format to six weeks. what about people, jane, who are already registered blood donors who have an appointment to donate over the next few days? we are urging all of our regular donors are common to see us of our regular donors are common to see us three, four times a year without fail to do what they always do and make sure that they try to do whatever they can to keep those appointments, especially those donors are of the all negative blood group. that is the one you are looking for most. so there will be some well—meaning but confusing m essa 9 es some well—meaning but confusing messages earlier, we saw that on social media, urging people to donate blood, but i think it is worth repeating the message that you have the stocks that you need. just tell us about how you manage this incident last night, getting blood to where it was needed? we have a robust system that is in place every day up and down the country of receiving requests hospitals for whatever type of product they need to keep whatever patients they've got at that time. so, how transport and logistics

people responded as they would normally do and actually, fortu nately for normally do and actually, fortunately for us, because of that strong, loyal army of blood donors that we have that come in to see us three times a year, our blood stocks are able to respond effectively to all of those requests that came in over night and this morning. and if so, we have been able to supply all of that product without any impact to patients and their care. jane, thank you very much, jane green, chief nurse of nhs blood and transplant. as you saw a few moments ago, the home secretary amber rudd and the prime minister theresa may have arrived in manchester, they went to greater manchester police headquarters. elgar, the prime minister chaired a meeting of the merge the committee cobra and after that she said this... —— emergency committee. i havejust chaired a meeting of

the government's emergency committee cobra, where we discussed the details and the response to the appalling events in manchester last night. our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families and friends of all those affected. it is now beyond doubt that the people of manchester and this country have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack, an attack that targeted some of the youngest people in our society with cold calculation. this was among the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the united kingdom, and although it is not the first time manchester has suffered in this way, it is the worst attack the city has experienced and the worst ever to hit the north of england. the police and security services are working at speed to establish the complete picture, but i want to tell you what i can at this stage. at 10:33pm last night the police were called to reports of an explosion at manchester arena in manchester city centre

near victoria train station. we now know that a single terrorist detonated his improvised explosive device near one of the exits of the venue, deliberately choosing the time and place to cause maximum carnage and to kill and injure indiscriminately. the explosion coincided with the conclusion of a pop concert which was attended by many young families and groups of children. all acts of terrorism are cowardly attacks on innocent people, but this attack stands out for its appalling, sickening cowardice. deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and youngsters, who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives. as things stand, i can tell you that in addition to the attacker, 22 children have died and 59 people

have been injured. those who were injured are being treated in eight different hospitals across greater manchester, many are being treated for life—threatening conditions. and we know that among those killed and injured were many children and young. we struggle to comprehend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed of young children not as a scene to cherish but as an opportunity for carnage. but they can defeat the ideology that often fuels this violence. and if their turns out to be others responsible for this attack, to seek them out and bring them to justice. the police and the security services believe this attack was carried out by one man but they must now find out whether it was carried out by a

wider group. ofwat he was acting alone. —— or whether he was acting alone. it will take some time to establish these facts and the investigation will continue. the police and security services will be given all of the resources they need to complete that task. the police and security services believe they know the identity of the perpetrator, but that this stage of their investigations, we cannot confirm his name. the police and emergency services have, as always, acted with great courage and on behalf of the country, i want to express our gratitude to them. they acted in accordance with the plans they have in place and the exercises they conduct to test those plans. and they performed with the utmost professionalism. 400 police officers were involved in the operation through the night and many paramedics, doctors and nurses have worked valiantly amid traumatic and terrible scenes. saving lives and caring for the wounded. significant resources have been deployed to the

police investigation and there continue to be visible patrols around manchester, including the deployment of armed officers. for people who live and work in manchester, there remains a large cordon in place around manchester arena and victoria station, which will be in place for some time. the station is closed and will remain closed while a forensic search is underway. we know that many friends and relatives of people caught up in the attack are still trying to find out what has happened to their children, brothers and sisters, parents and loved ones. so, please, think of those people who are experiencing unimaginable worry and if you have any information at all, relating to the attack, please contact greater manchester police. the threat level remains at severe, that means that a terrorist attack remains highly likely, but the independentjoint

terrorism analysis centre, which sets the threat level on the basis of the intelligence available to them, will continue to assess this today and in the days ahead. later today i will travel to manchester to meet the chief constable of greater manchester police, ian hopkins. the mayor of greater manchester andy burnham. and members of the emergency services who have come to manchester's aid in its moment of need. and, as i announced last night, the general election campaign has been suspended. i will chair another meeting of cobra later today. at terrible moments like these, it is customary for leaders, politicians and others to condemn the perpetrators and declare that the terrorists will not win, but the fact that we have been here before and the fact that we need to say this again does not make it any less true.

for while so often we experienced the worst of humanity in manchester last night, we also saw the best. the cowardice of the attacker met the bravery of the emergency services and the people of manchester. the attempt to divide us met countless acts of kindness that brought people closer together. and in the days ahead, those must be the things we remember. the images we hold in our minds should not be those of senseless slaughter, but of the ordinary men and women who put concerns about their own safety to one side and rushed to help. of the men and women of the emergency services who worked tirelessly to bring comfort to help and to save lives. of the messages of solidarity and hope of all those who opened their homes to the victims.

for they are the images that embodied the spirit of manchester and the spirit of britain. a spirit that through years of conflict and terrorism has never been broken and will never be broken. there will be difficult days ahead, we offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of those affected. we offer ourfull support to the authorities, the emergency and the security services, as they go about their work. and we all, every single one of us, stand with the people of manchester at this terrible time. and, today, let us remember those who died and let us celebrate those who helped, safe in the knowledge that the terrorists will never win and our values, our country and our way of life will always prevail. theresa may speaking after that

meeting of the emergency committee cobra. the prime minister now in manchester, at greater manchester police headquarters. the latest we have from greater manchester police is that they have carried out or executed warrants, in local areas of greater manchester at that second location a controlled explosion took place, they have said, all part of the investigation and the horrific attack last night at the manchester arena. greater manchester police has said they will not confirm any names or name of the suspect who is believed to have died in the attack last night. they have said that confirmation will take place once formal identification is completed. this has not yet been confirmed, but the bbc understands that the attacker was british or from the uk. so many messages of condolence as

well from right around the world, the latest we are hearing from pope francis. any statement from the vatican says that his holiness pope francis is deeply saddened to learn of the injuries and loss of life caused by this barbaric attack in manchester. he expresses his heartfelt solidarity with the people of manchester and all those affected by the attack and he also praises the work of the emergency services, the work of the emergency services, the security services in the aftermath of this attack. and tragically, we have the names, the identities of two of the victims, one aged 18 and onlyjust eight. 18—year—old georgina callander, a student at a local college in lancashire. here she is seen with the singer ariana grande when she met her two years ago. and also

eight—year—old savvy resource. you're watching bbc news. this is bbc news. i am ben brown reporting live from manchester. 22 people, including children, are now known to have been killed after a suicide bomber detonated a device at the end of a pop concert in manchester. the youngest victim was only eight years old — saffie roussos from lancashire. 18—year—old college student georgina callander also died. scores of others were injured and others are still missing. this is my daughter, olivia. i haven't seen her since five o'clock last night. she was at the ariana grande concert with her friend. i'm worried sick. if anyone has seen her, please contact the police.