hello and welcome. i'm karin giannone in london. the headlines: manchester unites — to remember the victims of monday's concert attack. 22 people have been killed and many injured. soldiers are to join police on the streets of britain, as the prime minister raises the terror threat level to critical. this means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that a further attack may be imminent. the suspect is named as 22 year—old salman abedi. he's understood to have been born in manchester to a family of libyan origin. we're learning more about the victims — among them children and teenagers. but the desperate search continues for those still missing. hello.

the official terror threat level in the uk has been raised to critical — which means an attack is "expected imminently". members of the armed forces are also being deployed to boost security at key sites across britain. the prime minister, theresa may, made the announcement as counter—terrorism officers continue their inquiries into the suicide bombing in manchester that claimed the lives of 22 people. sarah corker has more. raising the threat level to critical isa raising the threat level to critical is a major and raising the threat level to critical is a majorand blair raising the threat level to critical is a major and blair moved by uk security chiefs are those not unprecedented. it is the first time placed at the top of the five levels ina placed at the top of the five levels in a decade. it means hundreds of troops will be deployed under police command. it is now concluded, on the

basis of today's investigation, that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical. this means it that their assessment is that only that an attack remains likely, but that a further attack may be imminent. investigators cannot say for sure whether the bomber, salman abedi, acted alone or with the help of others. it is decided by a task force made up of police and agencies. it has been asked to deploy a number of armed military personnel in support of police officers. this request is part of a well—established plan known as operation tempora. that puts soldiers into public places to support police. all the extra police

office rs support police. all the extra police officers will be augmented by military support. the first phase, those of military officers will guard key locations, free police office rs guard key locations, free police officers tojoin their guard key locations, free police officers to join their colleagues on the street. we could also use military police at key events. this level has only been reached twice before. first in 2006, during a major operation to stop a plot to blow up transatlantic airline. and then when a man tried to bomb london nightclub before attacking the airport. the government will take every measure available to help the police protect the public. it's now more than 2a hours since the attack happened just as thousands of fans were leaving the manchester arena. our chief correspondent gavin hewitt reports now on the attack — a warning, there are distressing images.

ariana grande's concert was coming to an end when from the foyer the sound of an explosion. they were screams, sound of an explosion. they were screams, then running a crowd of children, teenagers, parents, all heading for whatever x that they could find. near the exit, 22 people we re could find. near the exit, 22 people were killed. around 60 were injured. a massive flash, smoke. my wife, i had to lie her down on the floor. she has bruising there. she has probably broken her femur she has bruising there. she has probably broken herfemur in she has bruising there. she has probably broken her femur in the left leg. behind me, my mum and my sister and we all dropped to the

floor but then my mum told me to i’ufi. floor but then my mum told me to run. i tried to run back in. i could not really hear anything because my ears we re not really hear anything because my ears were blocked and it was just really scary. all i could ears were blocked and it was just really scary. alll could hear ears were blocked and it was just really scary. all i could hear was screaming, people crying. it was com plete screaming, people crying. it was complete madness people running everywhere. it was like something out of a film. everyone was screaming. people had cuts on their arms and legs. the injured were taken to eight hospitals across greater manchester. some family and friends were split up in the rush to get emergency treatment. armoured police units patrolled the streets by the arena. police knew they were dealing by an attack by a bomber.

during the night, specialist teams we re during the night, specialist teams were brought in in case they were other explosive devices. —— there work. it was a deliberate attack on children and young people, timejust at the moment the parents were waiting to pick up their sons and daughters. 400 police officers were deployed along with forensic teams. police knew the identity of the bomber earlier on but did not reveal it until the afternoon. the man who carried out the atrocity is 20 t rolled salman abedi. however, he has not been formally named by the coroner and i would not wish therefore to comment any further about him at this stage. salman abedi was the son of refugees, a student at coleford university ——

coleford university. we sold masses of people in the corridor, running in absolute terror and panic to get out of the place. young, teenage children — i4, 15 — mothers with children — i4, 15 — mothers with children carrying them on their shoulders. people with even a wheelchair is panicking to get out. the concert for them ended in chaos. we just the concert for them ended in chaos. wejust ran. the concert for them ended in chaos. we just ran. but we also found two girls who lost their parents and had to get home on there to get home on —— girls who lost their parents and had to get home on —— their own. manchester has been a city on edge shaken by alerts and rumours and a

shopping centre in evacuation. shaken by alerts and rumours and a shopping centre in evacuationm shaken by alerts and rumours and a shopping centre in evacuation. it is now beyond doubt that the people of manchester and of 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 of the worst attack the city has experienced and the worst ever to hit the north of england. dozens of people are still trying to trace loved ones after last night bombing. among the missing, 0livia campbell, aged 15. some of the first victims have been named. georgina callander, aged 18, seen here at a previous event with ariana grande. saffie

roussos, eight—year—old, was also killed. during the day, police raided a number of houses. a 23—year—old man was arrested in connection. an attack like this had long been feared. preventing alone suicide bomber is difficult. police will now try to discover everything they can about this man, whether he is part of a greater network and whether there is a risk of further attacks. thousands of people gathered outside the town hall in a mark of defiance. 0ne gathered outside the town hall in a mark of defiance. one by one, members of different faiths insisted they would not be cowed. these were sikhs with placards. there is hard times again in the streets of our

city but we will not take defeat and we will not want your pity because this is where we stand strung together, with a smile on our face because this is the place in our heart, in our homes because this is the place in our bones, because of manchester asked strength from the fa ct manchester asked strength from the fact that this... is the place. defiant but also questions. what drove a young man to murder so many? earlier in the day police arrested a 23—year—old man in south manchester as part of their investigations. they also raided a property linked to the bomber‘s family. one of the priorities for investigators is to find out if the suicide bomber was working alone — or was part of a network that might have been planning other attacks. mark easton has the latest on the investigation.

his report contains some flashing images. who was behind this attack on innocents? as the concert ended and the lights came up, as children left for home, music in their ears, smiles on their young faces, who chose that moment to indulge their hateful ideology? there's no need to bunch up and run. take yourtime and exit the building. we now know the suicide bomber‘s name. manchester—born salman abedi did this. but police think others may have been involved, and today launched raids on people thought to have been his associates. a 23—year—old man was arrested in the manchester district of whalley range. 0ur priority, along with the police counter—terrorist network

and our security partners, is to continue to establish whether he was acting alone or working as part of a wider network. almost exactly a year ago, police and emergency services in manchester held a training exercise for just this kind of terrorist incident. 23 old man was arrested, a short distance away, a controlled explosion took place. it was like when you sit and watch films. a muffled sound. screaming. everyone was literally scared at that moment. it hit home that it is a real and on your doorstep. this part of the city

has been known to be the home of a number of extremists. salman abedi returned from the capital of libya just a few days ago. to construct a viable bomb safely transported and detonated on command is not something an amateur can easily achieve. police say the device was home—made. it contained nuts, bolts and nails. the view among security experts is that the attack bears the hallmarks of... premeditation, there almost certainly be other people involved. the most important thing is to capture them, to identify them and to bring them into custody. until we have done that, this attack really isn't over. almost exactly a year ago, a

really isn't over. almost exactly a yearago, a training really isn't over. almost exactly a year ago, a training exercise was held for just this year ago, a training exercise was held forjust this kind of terror incident. for a number of years, the threat level has been set at savea meaning an attack is extremely likely, it now it has moved up to critical, an attack expected imminently. the city is nervous, on edge but there is a determination not to be cowered by terror. "manchester united" is the fitting response to a vicious attack on fair manchester city. mark easton, bbc news, manchester. more from manchester injust a minute. you can also keep uptodate on this story on the bbc website. there is a live page following all the important information from police and officials. it has regular updates of the casualties, as well as eyewitness accounts. visit bbc.com/news. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body

landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. the polling stations are all prepared for what will be the first truly free elections in romania's history. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peacefulfuneral demonstration so far, but suddenly these police are teargassing the crowd, we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well established here, helen was said to be in good spirits butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. 0ur

our top story: a vigil has been held in manchester to remember that it terms of the concert attack. 22 people were killed and many injured. the prime minister has warned of further attack could be imminent, raising the terror threat to critical. let's get the latest. the priority of police of trying to find out if the attacker was helped by others? the fact they do not know if he was helped by others is exactly why that situation has been raised to critical. the sophistication of the device suggests that he may have

had some help along the way and the fa ct had some help along the way and the fact that they did not know if he did or not mean another attack may be imminent. there is certainly another fear amongst political and intelligence experts to suggest it may be imminent. there is a huge increase in police presence across the city. we may see the army being used to come in some of the critical venues to help police. we have big sporting events in the uk. at these events at airports, train stations, there will be an increased and visible military and police presence. where we saw so much

confusion and panic, it is unimaginable to think the grief for the loved ones? in your families come down from scotland. the to search for their loved ones, here in manchester, hoping that their child or children may be one of those still alive, being treated in one of the hospitals across manchester, where many of the victims are being treated. it is an appalling situation. we are only now know the identity of three of the dead. there are 22 people who were killed in manchester last night. many of those are likely to have been children as well. how much of a spirit of the

fires have they been showing in response to the atrocity? this city has come together very well, today. i think it is too early to say that things have returned to normal. that is impossible. much of the city is cordoned off. people have not been up cordoned off. people have not been up to return to work in many areas. there is still a deep sense of nervousness. we know there was a false alarm today at the shopping centre here. there is a sense of nervousness and tension. there is no sense of cracks developing amongst this very diverse community. there are all nations and all faiths, all creeds represented in manchester, one of the uk's most diverse community. there is no suggestion that despite the atrocity and the appalling level of violence that we saw in the city, there is no sense that the city's communities are pulling apart. in fact, they are

closer together. thank you very much for joining closer together. thank you very much forjoining us from manchester. many of the young people leaving the concert there in manchester witnessed harrowing scenes as the events unfolded. 0ur correspondence has been listening to the story of teenage cousins, billie clayton, and her cousin, polly, who had stayed for months to see her perform. —— ellie. i've been waiting to see her tour for about four years. so i've literally been waiting for so long, and then she finally released the tour dates and we were like "we'll save up and get good tickets, because we are going to be at the front". and we did. we got the vip package. it was just one of those things. i had to go. she just came out, and i cried when she came out. i started crying. the people behind me were crying. it's just a bit overwhelming when you meet someone you've just idolised for four or five years.

the gig was nearly finished, or pretty much finished? yeah, she had done an encore and she had just finished. and she'd just left. we got up out of our seats, literally walked to the end of our aisle, and that's when we heard it happen. and what did you hear? a really loud bang. it sounded more like a gunshot. but it was too loud to be a gunshot, and everywhere just shook and everyone screamed. and everyone was just still. everyone was just a bit like... "what was that?" and all the stewards were just a bit like "what's going on?" no—one really knew what was happening. and then we just heard people screaming and shouting "run", and everyone was running, flooding back into the arena from that one exit in the corner which was leading to the train station, i think. and then it was just like a massive stampede of people. that's when we kind ofjust saw... everything. what could you see? there were a lot of huddles of people. think you will never get. there was someone on the floor and loads of people around them.

i remember seeing a little girl. i think she was with her parents. she was sat outside the stairs of the arena and she had, like, a big gash on her chin and blood was coming down her clothes and she was just screaming and her parents were crying. as we were walking further and further, there were blue lights everywhere. there were police and ambulances everywhere. people just lean in agony. peoplejust lean in agony. it wasn't. .. that was peoplejust lean in agony. it wasn't... that was when we just thought, what has happened? wieters had no idea. —— wejust had no idea. did you realise people had died? i caught a glimpse inside the station and wasjust like, i don't... you just don't ever want to see things like that. there were just people lying there. the whole station and the foyer bit was just in pieces. i just didn't know what to do. it's so sad to think that people have gone and then not come back. to a happy event, a concert.

and what was going to be the best night of our lives that had been building up for me for years. since we booked the tickets, it was so exciting, and it's turned out into the most traumatic things that i've personally ever been through. do you feel lucky in a way to have come back 0k? oh, yeah. it's horrible to think, you know, what the families are going through. we could hear people crying and screaming. it's horrific. it's awful. 0n on tuesday evening, several thousand people came together in albert square, outside manchester town hall, where they heard expressions of pride in the city's strength and character, and its resilience. huw edwards focus on people there. this city is greater than the forces that have aligned themselves against it. we're sending a signal to manchester and to the world. i fell compared to

come. “— and to the world. i fell compared to come. —— compelled. this is my city. i live here. my children have been born here. it is such an atrocious act that happened last night with so many young people. why was it important to you to be a? it was important to you to be a? it was important for me because as my mother said, i was born in manchester, and i knew people at the concert. i find it very upsetting that somebody would just walk into a place, kill themselves, and other people, and it is very, very upsetting. you cannot defeat us, because love, in the end, is or are stronger than hate. the spirit of manchester cannot be broken by a man with a nail—bomb. there is more to the city than that. i am proud to be from the city. it is a wonderful place full of culture. we can be defeated by something that is. that is why i am here today. being in

manchester, it hits home, and with it being a terrorist attack, i feel a lot of muslims are getting the brunt of it, as well. we are here to show that we care, as muslims, we care. we don't agree with anything that has gone on, at all. to be honest, i have never been to one of these before. my heart goes out to all the victims. it isjust so sad. that was huw edwards, there are, at the vigil in manchester, on tuesday evening. thank you for being with us. i will be back with the headlines injust a us. i will be back with the headlines in just a few minutes time. hello there.

tuesday was a predominantly dry day with the heart of the country seeing the best of the sunshine. if we look at the weather watcher's picture from herefordshire, this illustrates the point nicely. there was cloud topping and tailing the country in the cloud, but enough for outbreaks of showery rain in the far north west of scotland. this is how we closed out the day yesterday with cloud and rain in the north and a little cloud lingering down to the south—west and that will still be with us first thing this wednesday morning. some coastal and some sea fog here. it will be quite a warm start, however, to the day. mid teens already and so temperatures are set to lift as we go through the morning. but we keep the cloud to the south—west with the best of the brightness really across south—eastern and eastern areas. we will chase cloud through the day but we get the best of the sunshine and temperatures will respond. into northern ireland we start off with showery outbreaks of rain to the north and west

of scotland but these will primarily sit towards the north—west of the great glen and as we go through the day, a couple showers will filter further east. they will be isolated by then. elsewhere, broken cloud, some sunshine and where we get the best of the sunshine, the temperature will respond. but despite cloud around it will be a warm day for all of us, generally at around 19 or 25 degrees. maybe a little bit fresher in the far north of scotland. one thing is for certain, later on in the week we keep that dry theme and there will be more in the way of sunshine. as a consequence, temperatures respond. warm to hot in places, particularly in the south—west corner. we can see first signs of that on thursday with decent spells of sunshine coming through much of the country and you can see that we will see high 20s likely into the south—east corner, maybe as high as 23 or 24 in sheltered western areas of scotland. this area of high pressure may drift further east and that will allow it to continue to drag up even warmer air from the near continent but at the same time, however,

there is a potential for a weather front to push on from the west. as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend, yes, it is a bank holiday weekend, there is a potential for some of us to see 30 degrees however, with that front knocking on the door there is also the potential for a thundery breakdown. do not make this the last forecast you see for the bank holiday weekend. there is the potential for sharp thundery downpours to moving from the south—west, of it, however, it will stay quite warm with lots of sunshine. i'm karin giannone in london. the headlines this hour: third terror threat raised to critical. the prime minister has warned of further attack could be imminent. soldiers will be deployed to protect key sites. investigators have been unable to rule out whether

the bombing suspect has acted alone. 20 to summon bash at someone a baby —— salman abedi. among the victims and 80 roald. —— eight—year—old on tuesday, international leaders offered messages of sympathy and support for top james landau reports on reaction from around the world. president trump visiting israel said

the wicked ideology behind all terrorism has to be completely obliterated. so many young, beautiful people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life. i will not call them monsters because they would like that term. they would think that is a great name. i will call them, from now on, losers, because that is what they are, they are losers. the president called theresa may to express his condolences and offer us help in the investigation. emmanuel macron also spoke to the prime minister, offering the uk more cooperation in the fight against

terrorism. translation: we will be determined and resolute alongside our european partners in the struggle against terrorism everywhere in our continent. in berlin, the union flag was at half mast at the british embassy. the chancellor set she would help. translation: germany stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of great britain. amid tight security in rome, the pope issued a telegram offering prayer for the dead and wounded. in brussels, flags were lowered in a mark of respect. 0ther leaders expressed their condolences through messages on social media. president putin sent a telegram to

mrs may offering to increase counterterrorism cooperation with britain. a personal message of condolences from xi jinping two the queen. and turkey also said it stood with britain in the fight against terror. in australia, the prime minister spoke for many. this is an attack on innocence. surely there is no crime more reprehensible than the murder of children. this is a direct and brutal attack on young people everywhere on freedom everywhere. around the world, from kiev to france, people marked the attack with silence in memory of those

killed in the attack. i have been speaking to a fellow at the george washington university. he explained the security threat as he saw it.|j think we are dealing with more than one person here. i have a hard time believing that this individual was alone in the fashioning of the ied and everything that goes into the production of a bomb and executing it. i suspect that he had associates, if not handlers, and i think that is why the threat level was raised from severe to critical and why we have reports that the defence ministry forces have been called in to help in dealing with terrorist situations. your perspective is this sort of device could not have been made by somebody acting on their own? yes, i mean, in

the us in 2010, i think, we had to be attempt to explode a device in times square in new york city and that individual was not able to do so because he lacked the tradecraft. he had a lot of motivation, he was sufficiently radicalised he tried to do it but then got caught. this requires a certain level of tradecraft to get this right. there is an insidious method to this madness which we cannot overlook and i think therefore we are dealing with sophisticated apparatus that is able to produce these kind of attacks. radicalism is not enough to get someone to the point of doing what we saw happened last night, how worrying is that now, this possibility that there may be

somebody out there manufacturing and assisting people who are radicalised to be able to do further attacks?” mean, this is a very worrying trend andi mean, this is a very worrying trend and i think this is why the intelligence services and other securities nervous as not taking any chances. —— security services are not. there may be an organisation, a network, a cell that is acting in terms of middle management that seeks to groom these people who then perpetrate these attacks. there is this model, this theory that there are loan wolves but this particular bombing does not appear to be the work of alone and therefore the question is, what is that wider network, who are they? how can we track and neutralise them? since the thousand five, the attacks on the

london at transport network, we have not seen this kind of attack and we thought things were moving in a different direction, much simpler, less sophisticated attacks — what has changed ? less sophisticated attacks — what has changed? what has changed is that we are now dealing with the isis phenomena in. we tend to look at it and see they are losing territory and we tend to think they are weakening and then things like this happen and everybody gets surprise but we should not be surprised because we should not assume loss of territory it needs the group and its operational capability and reach across continent has been neutralised, those are two separate rails. in 2007 we were dealing with al-qaeda which was a much more, if you will, innovative organisation when compared to isis. 0ver

innovative organisation when compared to isis. over time, the terrorists have improved their capabilities and greatly so. as the news of the bombing spread across manchester, many rushed to help those in need. families offered accommodation is an taxi drivers gave free rides. so the long response on how the community came together in adversity. manchester was a city understandably on edge this morning as the city centre was evacuated. smashed all the windows. we just evacuated. smashed all the windows. wejust rain. this time, it was evacuated. smashed all the windows. we just rain. this time, it was a false alarm. -- wejust rain. people here are coming together. the defiance is strong. no amount of evilness will ever dump on the good

folks of manchester. drivers forgoing their affairs, keeping the city moving. they were teenagers, 14 - 18. city moving. they were teenagers, 14 — 18. most of them with their pa rents were — 18. most of them with their parents were crying. i drop them wherever they wanted to go. so many people have said to me, i have no words and words have been difficult to find those people just begin to get their heads around an atrocity which took place right in the heart of their city. what comes more easily is actions. people queued to give their blood. i wanted to come down to see if i could help. there has been an overwhelming response on social media sol has been an overwhelming response on social media so i thought i would

come down and give blood to help. 0thers took food to hospital where victims are being treated. people connected in person, by telephone. even the very young were among those responding. helping to keep people going. it is so close to home. we might as well help whichever way we can. on city streets today, a real sense of community. after what happened yesterday, there is a responsibility to do something. we just want to show people that they are just want to show people that they a re loved just want to show people that they are loved so we go around hugging people. love is the only thing that we can do. tonight, concert-goers we re we can do. tonight, concert-goers were undeterred as simple minds took to the stage just a mile ago. let's think about the big —— victims of

last night. they are coming together and carrying on. with the british government raising the terror threat to critical, lots more information on the website. live page updating you. let's remind you of our main news: remembering the victims — 22 people we re remembering the victims — 22 people were killed and many injured. theresa may has warned of further attack could be imminent raising the terror threat to critical. let's stay with that story. ed thomas has

spent over 24 hours reporting from the city. he said the people have come together but there has been a level of confusion. the images of children, young children, teenagers, in shock, in disbelief. we watched many tried to get a hold of their pa rents. many tried to get a hold of their parents. wanted to leave the city. we sought mums and dads frantically trying to get hold of their children, they did not know where they were, if they were safe or injured. in the middle of that confusion, strange as giving out bottles of water, offering help. 0ne image which has stuck with me is a father hanging his two children, his two daughters. he was distressed. a stranger came to him and said, i am not a taxi driver but i will take you home, you will be safe. any

people are holding onto that good. the attack on young defenceless children in before you after a concept has left many people in com plete concept has left many people in complete disbelief. our correspondent daniel sandford has been at police headquarters to get the forces latest thoughts on the operation. they got a good start to the investigation, we got an idea early on, salman abedi, believed to be the suspected suicide bomber because he had id on him and they we re because he had id on him and they were quick to work out who we was, the raid addresses, to control explosions at those addresses and to identify him as of this 22—year—old man born here to refugees from libya but then it became difficult because they just could not but then it became difficult because theyjust could not get to the stage where they were able to rule out the

possibility of others so that remained the ongoing question and critically tonight they have not got to the bottom of why a man who grew up to the bottom of why a man who grew up here and went to school here suddenly decided to turn against the country that gave him refuge. we will turn our attention to the sport briefly with sports today. this is sport today, live from the bbc‘s sports centre. 0n the eve of the europa league final, manchester united hold a minutes silence. united hold a minutes silence. united ‘s opponents say the final has lost its glow. hello and welcome to the programme.

there is only one place to start, and that is in manchester. treasury agents have unfolded over the past 24 hours or so and have resonated all around the world. but in the city, it has also been felt in a sporting context. manchester united, a worldwide brand, notjust a football club, based ajax. the hierarchy at old trafford have been reacting along with many others to the news that 22 people