tv BBC News BBC News May 24, 2017 2:00pm-3:01pm BST
2:00 pm
this is bbc news. i'm christian fraser live in manchester, where more details are emerging about the attack which killed 22 people. it's thought the suspected suicide bomber, 22—year—old salman abedi, may have been part of a wider network, planning further attacks. three more men have been arrested in manchester today as police seek to establish whether the bomber acted alone. troops are being deployed on the streets of major cities and at key locations after the terror threat level was raised to critical, the highest possible, late last night. so far, the names of 12 victims of the bombing at the manchester arena have been released, but police say they do not know the identities of all those who died. —— do know. in other news... president trump meets the pope at the vatican and receives a signed copy of the pontiff‘s views on climate change. and profits at marks & spencer fall by almost two thirds last year, following a costly
2:01 pm
business overhaul. good afternoon, welcome to manchester. you can see that we have it moved position to the manchester by —— manchester arena behind me. we are told that police are still on site and the forensic work will continue, because the principal focus of the police right now is to establish who the bomb maker was. there will be fragments of bomb material in the foyer area and the
2:02 pm
forensic work will continue as long as is needed to pull together all the pieces as they need in this fast—moving investigation. we know a little bit more about the bomber, named as 22—year—old salman abedi, a manchester boy, he was in enrolled recently at university. he was knowing to security services, says amber rudd, to a point. it was known that he had left the country, he had gone to libya at some point. there are reports from the french government that he may have even gone to syria, but that is very much pa rt gone to syria, but that is very much part of the investigation. let's look at some of the latest developments in that investigation. four people have been arrested, so far in connection to the attack, and cleaning the suspected bomber‘s brother. the bbc understands that the bomber is thought to have been,
2:03 pm
coming from our security guard or frank gardner, —— respotted. he would've brought it, but it would have been built by somebody else. that is probably why the terror threat level for the uk has been raised to critical, meaning more attacks may well be eminent. it has been raised from severe. almost 1000 troops are thought to have been deployed around the country to key sites around the country, so they are outside new scotland yard, the uk parliament, they'll also be a transport hubs and other sensitive sites around the country. let's get oui’ sites around the country. let's get our first report from our correspondent. of those killed in the attack on monday night, seven have now been named, including 0livia campbell, who was 15 years old. her family had been desperately searching for her, hoping she was still alive. amongst the victims was kelly brewster from sheffield. and martyn hett, a pr manager, his
2:04 pm
friends described him as wonderful, iconic and beautiful. much more is also now known of the person who detonated a powerful bomb, filled with metal nuts and bolts at the manchester arena, killing and maiming so many people. he was 22—year—old salman abedi, born and raised in manchester. he was known to the security services. a former classmate described him as gullible and short tempered, and he had become increasingly religious at school. there are now reports he travelled to countries where islamist extremists are based. the french interior minister said he had been told by investigators here in britain that salman abedi had gone to libya, and then without doubt to
2:05 pm
syria. he said he had been radicalised and decided to commit this attack. yesterday, heavily armed leaves carried out raids in south manchester, resting his brother is. there have been more rates today with another three men arrested in the city. with the authorities increasingly concerned that abedi was part of a network of extremist, the terrorist threat level has been raised to critical, the highest possible. it means armed police can now be backed up by thousands of troops across the country. this was a horrific, violent event. it was more sophisticated than some of the horrific events we have seen in the past and other parts of europe, so people are reasonably wondering whether he did this on his own. buckingham palace is one of the key locations where troops will be
2:06 pm
positioned instead of police. today, the usual ceremony around the changing of the guard was cancelled. and there has been particularly high security at st. paul's cathedral in london for a visit by the queen and the duke of edinburgh. there will be many the duke of edinburgh. there will be ma ny eve nts the duke of edinburgh. there will be many events across the country in the next couple of weeks. we will work closely with the organisers to review security, review their stewa rd i ng review security, review their stewarding and our policing arrangements. and to go ahead but these where it is sensible and safe to do so. in manchester, while people continue to grieve, there was also determination to remain united asa also determination to remain united as a community. yesterday we were numb with shock, today we are waking up numb with shock, today we are waking up to the enormity of what had happened. a people took enormous comfort from what happened yesterday. it was our darkest hour, but you saw the best of manchester yesterday. i was in the hospital 's late last night and i was hearing stories that porters, cleaners,
2:07 pm
surgeons, nurses came stories that porters, cleaners, surgeons, nurses came in from not being on shift to help out, people we re being on shift to help out, people were bringing in food. people pull together and i think we should take a great deal of pride in that, in our most testing moment, the greater manchester came together. that sense of unity spirit is vital. but it will still take time for the city to recover from the trauma of what happened here on monday night. as richard was saying, the threat level has been raised to critical, which means an attack is not only likely but could well be eminent. the prime minister saying is that is a proportionate and sensible response. we will see pictures like these across the country, normally there is police, but now we will see soldiers, replacing police around
2:08 pm
the country to allow police officers to go out on patrol and be involved in protecting other sites around cities. you will see quite a visible presence in central london. we understand west midlands and west yorkshire don't plan to have soldiers on the streets as yet. there is a decision we are waiting for greater manchester police. we are expecting a press conference from great manchester police in the next few minutes, we will take you straight to that as and when the chief constable appears. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in downing street. we are starting to see the troops on the streets. 98a deployed so far, but many more available should they need them. we are told up to 4000 could be made available and i think that gives you a sense ofjust how seriously the security services and ministers are taking the potential terror threat. that we now face in the wake of the manchester atrocity, not just the scale the wake of the manchester atrocity, notjust the scale of resources
2:09 pm
being made available, but the very fa ct being made available, but the very fact that we are seeing troops deployed. this lunchtime, we actually saw para troopers in their red berets, elite troops, arriving in parliament presumably to replace the armed police who normally provide a security force, and i have to say, i am never seen armed soldiers at westminster and i assume later on today they will be posted at the gates where there are normally police officers very often just guiding tourists. now we will have some of britain's most elite soldiers there. that presumably will be replicated at key installations not just around the be replicated at key installations notjust around the capital but around the uk, so at airports and nuclear plants, ge energy terminals, that sort of thing, to release the police so they can take part in the broader security operation. the other thing which probably underlines just how seriously ministers now view the ongoing threat is the fact that the home secretary today said it was likely
2:10 pm
that salman abedi was not on his own, in other words that he had associates, accomplices, could have been part of a broader terrorist network. in other words, there is a potential ongoing threat even after his death. for the home secretary to confirm that and for the deployment of troops gives you i think a sense of troops gives you i think a sense of just how seriously they are viewing the risk, which means i suspect in terms of when the election campaign resumes, everything i am hearing is that it could be several days, even though we note ukip are threatening to halt their manifesto launch tomorrow to restart their election campaign, very controversial decision, but i imagine they will be on their own. i don't think they will be seeing other part is following suit. —— holes of their manifesto launch. we are waiting for a press conference from greater manchester police. we
2:11 pm
will take you to that when we can. we have had some word today from them that they know the identity of all the victims who were killed on monday night, 22 of them. only 12 have been named so far. there are still friends at work to be done in the corner has to be fully satisfied on the identities before the names are released, but 12 have been identified so far. 0ne minor breaking news to bring you, we are hearing from her home affairs correspondent, but there was a female police officer who was off duty in the foyer who was killed on monday night and her husband was critically injured. they were with their children and we understand the two children are injured as well. if female police officer, off duty, in the foyer on monday night, confirmed as one of the 22 people that have been killed. a lot of focus of course in manchester is on the libyan community. it is one of the biggest libyan community in the country and a lot of focus on the family and associates of salman abedi. four people have been
2:12 pm
arrested so far, including his brother, he was picked up in the dalton area of manchester, the south of the city yesterday. let's get a little bit more on that investigation from our security correspondent. the face of samana battie, identified as the manchester suicide bomber. he is now thought to have had help, possibly from a expert bomb maker. —— salman abedi. these images show his brother being arrested yesterday in manchester. in the abedi household goes by, police used explosives to gain access and search for clues. there are international connections to this plot. from manchester, abedi is believed to have recently gone to libya, a failed state. today the french interior minister said that war—torn syria was also a country he had probably spent time in. increasingly, investigators have come around to the conclusion that the bomber, abedi, was not working
2:13 pm
alone. he was simply the mule carrying the device that was designed a bell for him by somebody else. that bomb maker would still be at large, which is why the uk terror threat level has been raised to critical. -- threat level has been raised to critical. —— designed a bomb for him. the security forces are working with the police and other intelligence forces to trace every possible connection that abedi had in this country and abroad. this is what we know about haka. he was born in manchester in 1994, of libyan pa rents in manchester in 1994, of libyan parents from tripoli. he dropped out of salford university and he was already known to the security services. in fact, the individual i spoke to yesterday he was a very close of the family —— my close friend, described him as a naive individual, that suggests to me that he would not have been able to put the explosive belt and build it on his own, he must‘ve had some support helping him do that.
2:14 pm
meanwhile, the search for clues continues. the forensic, digital and testimonies from witnesses and suspects. this, say the police, is a fast—moving wide—ranging investigation. iam i am pleased to say that frank is in london and can join i am pleased to say that frank is in london and canjoin us now. you're talking about the forensic investigation. i was reading about the forensic explosive laporte to in kent. they do extraordinary work pulling together the fragments of bombs. for the day looking for some kind of signature? i spent a day down there in kent, part of the government defence science and technology laporte torres. they examined everything from firecrackers left in a phone box to thejumble firecrackers left in a phone box to the jumble that was brought down
2:15 pm
over lockerbie. —— laboratories. they are the go to exports in the uk on suspect exposed devices. they will be able to get a signature from that and almost be able to reverse engineer what kind of bomb it was. was it using pt in, http, what other clues there are in it. what is the methodology used? does it come from a foreign country? is it something taught by foreign instructors in syria and libya, but they are keeping a open mind on it. tell me about the libyan community here in manchester. a lot of focus will be on that now. what do we know about them and specifically there are links to the communities back home and libya? the most important thing is to say that in the last few minutes, the libyan community have put out a statement utterly condemning this attack and saying it is an attack on all of us, craig
2:16 pm
rightly. the libyan community in manchester was obviously hugely interested in what happened in 2011, the arab uprising. many libyans left manchester, perfectly legally, to go to libya to fight against the regime of colonel gaddafi, and absolutely vile regime. i met that man twice and he ruled that country in the most barbaric and disgusting way. because that rule was so unpleasant, it gave rise to an opposition group known as the islamic fighting group, which unfortunately had links to al-qaeda. some people from that group are still in manchester. it is reported that the father of the bomber, who is now living in tripoli, did have links to that group. it is since disbanded. he fled libya back in 1991, went to
2:17 pm
saudi arabia, went to the uk and this is one of the lines that i think will probably be looked at. was there an al-qaeda connection to this? and is his connection to this? 0r this? and is his connection to this? or was this something done by people com pletely or was this something done by people completely independently? amber rudd has been quite critical of the americans today. a lot of the information about salman abedi came from unnamed american officials. i suppose that is the nature of investigations like that these days. does it now become an international effort? tested includes libya and people from outside the country, does it naturally bring in other intelligence agencies?” does it naturally bring in other intelligence agencies? i would struggle to think of pretty much any terrorist plots, any major plot that we have had in the uk in the last 15 or16 we have had in the uk in the last 15 or 16 years, that has not had an international dimension to it. and
2:18 pm
the 2000s, international dimension to it. and the 20005, it international dimension to it. and the 2000s, it was the connection to pakistan. they would call in help from the pakistani intelligence service. in this case, i'm sure that mi6, britain's secret intelligence service, will be speaking to whoever they can find and libya. but let's not forget that libya is a failed state these days. it has more than one government, it has warring militias, warring factions, parts of the country are effectively under al-qaeda. it is a mess, there was no other word to describe it. remember, it was from a libyan terrorist training camp two years ago that's another person came across the borderfrom ten is another person came across the border from ten is yet and killed sist border from ten is yet and killed 31st in tennessee have. not an easy country, not a normal relationship to have. —— killed 31 taurus in
2:19 pm
tunisia. it is early days yet. early days indeed. fascinating details, thank you very much. 0ur security correspondent. you're watching bbc news. let's focus a little bit on libya. notan news. let's focus a little bit on libya. not an easy investigation when you're talking about a failed state like that with so many different factions in parts of different factions in parts of different parts of the country. we sent our correspondent quentin somerville there. we believe that abedi's father may be in libya and this family has links to radical is the most grapes, that has expressed support for al-qaeda, not just for that has expressed support for al-qaeda, notjust for them but also for the front in syria. it is worth remembering that libya tomic it is much forgotten about in the work to
2:20 pm
islamic state. thousands of fighters from libya had honed their skills battling against president gaddafi, they then moved to both syria and iraq and honed his skills further. they were able to come back here and set upa they were able to come back here and set up a base and then move from libya to europe. we don't know if abedi was part of that network, but his family certainly have links and have expressed support for those radical islamist groups. let's talk a little bit about the victims. we know that there were 22, of the 64 that went to hospital, 20 remain ina of the 64 that went to hospital, 20 remain in a critical condition. they are the sort injuries that doctors are the sort injuries that doctors are dealing with, missing limbs, major organ trauma, that sort of thing. we will keep a focus on that. let me tell you about the people who
2:21 pm
have been named today. we have the names of 12 people who have died. 32—year—old kelly brewster from sheffield, 18—year—old 0livia campbell from bury to be focused on her programmes yesterday, you might remember her mother making a desperate plea for any information on 0livia. tributes paid to the victim we told you about yesterday, eight—year—old saffie resells, described as her head teacher today asa described as her head teacher today as a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. —— saffie roussos little saffie roussos had gone with her mother to dance to her pop idol. she became the youngest known victim of the arena attack. the eight—year—old's death has had her community hard. parents holding their children close and amount of flowers, tributes at her family's fish and chip shop, continuing to grow. saffie was a pupil at a village primary school in lancashire. her loss has affected parents, pupils and staff who held a minute's
2:22 pm
silence for her this morning. saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. she was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. she was quiet and unassuming with the creative flair. saffie comes from a close loving family and we can only imagine what they are going through. the names of those killed keep emerging. the identities of half the 22 concertgoers who died are now known publicly. amongst them teenagers who had gone to the gate, and at least four parents were gone to collect their children at the end of the show. greater manchester police say they are now confident they have been able to identify all of those killed, but the families have been contacted and they are being supported is specially trained officers. yesterday, the mother of teenager 0livia campbell was searching for her daughter. today
2:23 pm
came confirmation that the 15—year—old is amongst those who died. her mother paying tribute to her on facebook. 59 people were injured in the attack. hospitals are crossed manchester are continuing to treat many of them. they are the germanic injuries you would expect in terms of the type of device used, the proximity to the people used to leg injured. —— traumatic. we are dealing with loss of limbs potentially, we are dealing with embedded objects, all the horrific injuries you would expect from the event that happened. 20 years ago, this church was damaged in the ira bomb attack. today it is just one spotin bomb attack. today it is just one spot in the city which provides a focal point for grief and a place where strength and solidarity is on show as well. difficult to listen to the stories,
2:24 pm
so many of them as well. quite a lot of tears in albert square for the vigil, and no one being held in albert square this evening. we have been talking about saffie roussos, the eight girls he was the youngest victim. she was named yesterday. —— eight—year—old girl who was the youngest victim. we heard from the head teacher from her primary school. a difficult day for him, he has been painter view to saffie. let's listen. news of saffie death in this appalling attack has come to a dish shock to us all. i would like to send our deepest condolences to her friends to send our deepest condolences to herfriends and to send our deepest condolences to her friends and family. saffie was simplya her friends and family. saffie was simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. she was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair. she comes from a close, loving family and we can only imagine what the are going through.
2:25 pm
it is hard for adults, let alone children, to grasp the unfairness and utter randomness of this terrible act. 0urjob now is to support our children and families to deal with the after affects of this traumatic experience. we are being supported by specialist team from lancaster county council to do so. this morning we came together, as a whole school community, were we held a minute's silence in saffie memory. we sang don't stop believing. as you can imagine, there were tears from the children and staff. we know together we have to hold on to the love amongst us. we owe that to saffie and her family. love amongst us. we owe that to saffie and herfamily. i would please ask that members of the press now give our children the space to grieve with their friends. thank you. there are a number of police raids
2:26 pm
that have been underway across manchester. we saw quite a few yesterday in south manchester. and also where abedi's house was. that'll yesterday. i want to show you pictures from a rain that took place in the centre of the city today, piccadilly station. you can see here, balaclava policemen going into the building. that search is a p pa re ntly into the building. that search is apparently still underway. they arrived around lunchtime, much to the surprise of people in that street, because it's right in the heart of the business district of manchester. we don't any information as of yet what dodig as to what they we re as of yet what dodig as to what they were looking for, but plenty of pictures circulating in social media as please went into the building. —— as please went into the building. —— as to what they were searching for. i think we can go to manchester royal infirmary. we've been hearing
2:27 pm
a little bit about the victims. you have still got people from the attacks were being treated their? yes, here at the manchester royal infirmary, there are nine people being treated. to my right is manchester's children hospital, we know that 12 people under the age of 16 are still being treated in there as well. 64 victims of monday's attack being treated in eight hospitals across greater manchester. a little earlier today, we heard from the chief officer of greater manchester health and care partnership and he said that, of those 64, 20 people, some of them children, are being treated for critical injuries, life—changing injuries. you understand that there isa limit injuries. you understand that there is a limit to what the staff here can't share with us. this was a very public attack, these are very personal stories now. children,
2:28 pm
pa rents personal stories now. children, parents either fighting for their lives in buildings like the one behind me or coming to terms with life—changing injuries. we are hoping to get a little update at some point throughout the afternoon, but we are not quite sure when that will happen. more and more detaileds are beginning to emerge about the victims that died on monday night. 12 people have been named, and with them of course tributes come. you we re them of course tributes come. you were talking about a few of them a little earlier, but martyn hett we now know was killed on monday night. he was 29 years old, he was a well—known coronation street fan, he had been on the bbc talking about that in the past and his partner, russell hayward, said he left the world how he lived, the centre of attention. kelly brewster, 32 years old from sheffield, she died we are told shielding her 11—year—old niece. with all the details emerging
2:29 pm
about the lives you were killed on monday night we hear bittersweet memories and the kind of loss that people are now coming to terms with. saffie roussos, we have heard from her headmaster today she was just eight years old. simply a beautiful girl in every sense of the word. with every name we receive and u nfortu nately we ca n with every name we receive and unfortunately we can expect to get more over the hours and days to come, there is of course an outpouring of love thomas of loss and of grief, but also a determination that it is their names that should endure, their names that should be remembered, not that of the individual who took their lives so brutally. yes, here, here to that. it is their names that should be top of the list, not that of abedi. let's put all those people in our thoughts. i give very much, so the long. at manchester royal infirmary. i want to introduce you to mike haines, the brother of david
2:30 pm
haynes, the british aid worker who was killed by islamic state in 2014. you have been working for three yea rs now as you have been working for three years now as a peace campaigner. i believe you were in liverpool on monday. after an event like this, does it take you particularly hard? doesn't bring back the thoughts and memories for you? every terror attack, no matter where it takes place, no matter the so—called reasons, political, religious, it a lwa ys reasons, political, religious, it always hits hard. the attack the other night, particularly disgusting, such a cowardly act, to target women and children like that is beyond belief. what advice can you give to people who might have been affected? i imagine you never really get over it, but is there anything to get over, to move past
2:31 pm
day—to—day? anything to get over, to move past day-to-day? even if you just witnessed, reach out. there are many organisations that can help here in this area, we have the foundation for peace in this area, who have personally helped me a great deal coming through my own trauma. so reach out to them. talk to them. you cannot do it by yourself. as inevitably you do in these situations, i was thinking what i would do if it was my son or daughter. it would be easy to hate. that passed to hate would be so easy. as we saw the response after the attack, incredible response from the attack, incredible response from the police, and the manchester
2:32 pm
people, across all faiths, all colours hmmm across every culture, people rushed to help. at the vigil, so many different people. no matter the reasons why these people commit such atrocities, it doesn't matter. what matters is our response. every act of terror is about hatred. they wa nt act of terror is about hatred. they want us to stand up and spout hatred. they want to divide our community. they want to destroy the fabric of our great country. so it's really important, manchester showed the way. manchester stood together... manchester stood together... manchester stood together. manchester is standing together. manchester is standing together and they are showing the way. the visual was so moving. so
2:33 pm
many different cultures there. all sharing, all trying to help. it is wonderful. manchester should be proud. they should be proud, it was quite extraordinary last night, it was good to see so many people came out. you were talking about reaching out. you were talking about reaching out. you were talking about reaching out. you have reached out to an incredible amount of people in recent yea rs. incredible amount of people in recent years. how many people do you think you have spoken to in your tors of the country? well over 30,000. you think it makes a difference? yes, i know it makes a difference. i have personally had m essa g es difference. i have personally had messages back from people, one particularfamily, i messages back from people, one particular family, i can't messages back from people, one particularfamily, i can't mention in any way, shape or form, particularfamily, i can't mention in any way, shape orform, but particularfamily, i can't mention in any way, shape or form, but one particular lad that was on the prevent radar, in trouble with police, gang related problems, drugs, alcohol... he hardly attended school, but he was at the school i
2:34 pm
went to on that day. he went home and told his parents. every day since, he has been at school. he stopped his hate. he is now involved with a school in the school promoting tolerance, unity. that is a wind. evidence, as many people say, if you get into the community, you can make the difference. i report a lot from france, they get a lot of problems in the cities. he would say if you get into the communities, it is not glib to say, you can change things. there are amazing groups here in manchester who have been doing work for some time and are doing incredible groups, they are doing real work at the moment to get into communities, to talk to estranged youth. we all
2:35 pm
go through a stage of being angry young men and women. it is important that we reach them before the groomers find them. find them and twist them to their own purpose. there are lots of people who are doing good work. we're obviously talking about so called isis and what they stand for, which is truly a portent. probably a day doesn't go by and you don't think of david. there is a big david shaped hole in my life. there is not a day i don't think about him. i lost my mother not long after, and my father... my mother never recovered, my father very, very quickly slipped into dementia, we lost him just two weeks ago. yes, it is very difficult. it
2:36 pm
is the best legacy for david, what you're doing. i know it is difficult to talk about, it is difficult to listen to. thank you much for coming. let's talk a little bit about the security operations going on this weekend. lots of things going on in manchester, so that will be the focus, but it is the fa cup final at the weekend. under stockholm's sun chang, united fa ns under stockholm's sun chang, united fans gathered for the normal big build—up, but this is now no normal final. well the supporters are here in sweden their thoughts are back in manchester. we keep getting messages
2:37 pm
from back home. it is been quite sombre to say the least. they can beat us. it's for manchester. for the 22 and the 50 or so you're injured, it is for them as well. it's notjust injured, it is for them as well. it's not just about manchester united, it's about people. the team and the fans just want to do it for manchester. last night, as solemn jose mourinho arrived with this team, saying the victims of the manchester attack were in their minds and hearts. the players held a minute's silence before flying out, to make the whole stadium will do so in memory of those who died. words don't really do justice for how we feel. we are a number. the events we re feel. we are a number. the events were sickening. all our thoughts at the moment with the vic homes and
2:38 pm
families affected. for the players and thousands of fans here, tonight promises to be an emotional occasion. what was initiallyjust a football match has become an expression of sporting solidarity. i axed have already paid their respects, as have others across the game, including one united legend, eric cantona. i think to this city manchester, that i love deeply. i think to this country, england, and the english that i love deeply. i suffer with you. my heart is with you. this evening, united fans will u nfu rl you. this evening, united fans will unfurl this giant banner, the message once again clear. 0n unfurl this giant banner, the message once again clear. on a night when sport will be in perspective, our city will be at its heart. a minute's silence in that game, and
2:39 pm
they will be wearing black armbands as well. with me is christian spence from the greater manchester chamber of commerce. the message from us has been as close to business as normal as we can manage. we would normally expect over 100,000 people to attend the city games in the city centre and the marathon on sunday, so the view at the moment is that we will be reviewing security arrangements, but the plan is that the go—ahead as normal. business stands alongside culture. it is a city rich in culture, there are lots of venues
2:40 pm
around the city that's built into other businesses. do you think the bigger venues will need to take another look at their security, more so than they were doing last week? wild card so than they were doing last week? wild ca rd events so than they were doing last week? wild card events like we saw our random. 0ur security services work flat out to try to prevent these attacks. security is good. manchester has been used holding these events over the years. going forward , these events over the years. going forward, it is about taking the time to remember the tragic loss of those who died on monday night, but business will move on as normal and thatis business will move on as normal and that is what we are looking for. you must be incredibly proud how businesses and hotels reacted on monday night. that is what business does. it understands that business and the community cannot stand as two separate items. they reinforce each other and can only grow from each other and can only grow from each other. yes, manchester has done well, it has had a lot of positive
2:41 pm
publicity over how it has believed, but any city would do this. this is how businesses and communities flourish. so your message to people who might be thinking twice about coming to manchester? the security services are doing their best to make sure the people who come here at the weekend will be as safe as they can possibly be. the city is open but business. it is very difficult for parents to talk to young people about what happened here in manchester arena, particularly the parents of the children inside the venue. 21,000 people were inside. for anybody who was there, they feel lucky to have escaped and they will have to deal with those thoughts and there will be nightmarish and all the terrorist i come from an event like that. it is also important to talk about it to children who went there. my own daughter has been asking questions
2:42 pm
about it. we have been to school in manchester today to see how the teachers of that school reacted. it is the start of the school day, and for these children there is a change in normal lessons. there will be more security so you can feel safer. these 11-year-old pupils have been given the chance to talk about what happens. all over the uk, teacher at trying to explain to their students what happened on monday night. many schools in manchester had been offered extra counselling to help children over the next few days. i would sayjust be there. try to keep their routine as normal as possible and listen if they want to ask the same question over and over again, that is fine. just answer it. just be there and
2:43 pm
try to keep them calm. many children here have spent the day sharing their worries. i was quite scared in case it would happen even more close to us. i always speak to an adult about any worry is that i have, mainly my mum. but if she is not available or it is late at night and they don't want to wake up, i always have a teddy that sits at the end of my bed and it is a worry teddy, i open it, write it onto a piece of paperand inside. it makes open it, write it onto a piece of paper and inside. it makes me feel a lot better. i reassured myself by talking to my dad in the morning and he said it would be all right. how do you feel about what you have heard and seen? for teachers, sharing this kind of news is never easy, but at this school they say it is important to reassure the children as much as they can. the fact that there were children involved, that made it even
2:44 pm
more difficult for the children to understand and even more important for us to talk about it, to reassure them and make them feel safe. they we re them and make them feel safe. they were worried about it. lots of them go to the arena and go to concerts there. it is somewhere that they would go. last night the show went on, as simple minds played at the bridgewater hall. anthony took his nine—year—old son, lewis, to his first gig. it does make you think about it, bringing a young child. we had a chat and decided to go ahead. for many children, monday's attack will be the talking point in the playground, but at times like this it is children that she was all how resilient they can be. i want to bring you some lines from
2:45 pm
didsbury mosque. it is important in this because the bomber‘s father called the prayer at the mosque and we also know that the bomber attempted the mosque. they have released a statement. we might be able to get that statement on camera. let me read you some of the key lines. the british libyan community in manchester condemns in the strongest possible terms ad terrorist attack. the perpetrator murdered innocent and defenceless people, including children. this attack was an attack on all of us. such depraved acts have no basis in islam and all those responsible for destroying the lives of innocent people do not deserve to live in our community and should be behind bars. we support the police in bringing the perpetrators to justice and protecting the people of manchester and the rest of the uk. many members of the libyan community in manchester are doctors who stand
2:46 pm
aside with their colleagues ensuring that temp one and other patients receive the best possible care at this difficult time. salman abedi did attend the mosque. the at that mosque felt unsafe in the company of salman abedi. they he was radicalised in 2011. quite a gullible person as a young man, apparently. they think that he was the fuel, so not the brains behind the fuel, so not the brains behind the operation, but clearly there was a lot of sophisticated planning, not only getting the bomb to him, but also picking out the event here at manchester arena. all sorts of speculation as well about why this particular target. lots of girls at this concert. it was all about girl power and maybe, just maybe, that was the reason this particular location was picked. we will know, we can only speculate. lord richard dannett was commander
2:47 pm
in chief of land commands at the time of the 7/7 bombings in london. hejoins me from our studio in norwich. good afternoon to you. thank you for being with us. let's talk about the soldiers. we are starting to see more and more soldiers on the streets of london and around the country. are they suited to this particular rule? of course they are, otherwise they wouldn't have been deployed. two or three things are releva nt deployed. two or three things are relevant here. first, when soldiers to deploy in mainland great britain we do so in cooperation with the police, but critically led by the police. the police have primacy. the tasks that they will undertake are only the task they are trained to do. the present should be reassuring to the public and not be seen as alarming. i'm interested in the mechanics of how it works in terms of the command. they today i understand that are pleased to be in charge but if something was to
2:48 pm
happen in vicinity of the soldiers, who then takes control? it remains hypothetical, but we exercise and train with the police regularly. at the higher level command and control is under the authority of the police and a senior military military commander could be located with the senior police commander. all the soldiers deployed, whether in groups or in pairs will be given their rules of engagement. they would know what powers they have to stop and talk to someone, were they to arrest someone or in extreme circumstances if they use the call lethal force. they operate very much within strict rules of engagement but under police authority, it is important to remember that. in other countries, people are quite familiar with soldiers. i used to report a lot from france and we would see them a lot at the eiffel tower and key positions around the city. how do you think the british public will
2:49 pm
react to it? it is unusual for us. we have seen small numbers of soldiers at heathrow in the past, for example, but not since 2003. i think the british public will be reassured by the presence of soldier on the streets. every soldier that they can see with the weapon is therefore their security, and probably freeing up an armed policeman who can be doing something more suitable for their training. it should be reassuring. soldiers were pa rt should be reassuring. soldiers were part of civil society. it is part of our responsibility to protect people abroad or here at home when the moment is appropriate. abroad or here at home when the moment is appropriatelj abroad or here at home when the moment is appropriate. i don't know if you can tell us a little bit about the soldiers. there are so many different specialities between the armed forces. 0ther particular regiments that are well suited for this? given the nature of the threats, but presumably the best of what we have is always available.
2:50 pm
the best of what we have is always available and that is as far as i will go talking about special forces. routinely, the armed forces have given specialist knowledge to the police, in particular bomb disposal experts, search experts. the public should remember that at the time of the olympic games in 2012, soldiers were a common sight around the olympic stadium. whenever we have floods you will find soldiers filling sandbags, manning boats, doing that kind of stuff. this is unusual to see soldiers on the streets, but they are trained to do that. the do it from my spare capacity, it is not a full—time task for the military, but we remain under police control but helping out with the security of the general public, which is part of ourjob as public, which is part of ourjob as public servants. how long do you think this particular threat level will exist and how long will we see
2:51 pm
the soldiers on the streets? of course, i don't know. we are there because the threat level is a critical, that means that an attack is imminent or unlikely. security forces will take their judgment subsequently and i would anticipate that in a few days, maybe a week or two, that that threat level will come down to severe and again. at that stage i would expect to see troops withdrawn from the street and normal police and carried on by police in the normal way. it is an expedient measure, an important measure, while the threat level is a critical bearing in mind what that means. some fascinating detail there. thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. i was telling you about a raid on calling in central manchester, near piccadilly train station, right in the heart of the business district.
2:52 pm
we are right in the heart of manchester city centre. this is a block of flats that police have been searching for the last couple of hours. heavily armed unit came here to get access to this flat, to search it. some of the neighbours described quite an upsetting scene was that they were disturbed by a number of police officers with big arms and body armour. 0ne number of police officers with big arms and body armour. one of the neighbours thought it was an sas unit storming the building. there was also a fire engine here on stand—by. juju the level of intensity going into these police raids as officers searched different properties across the city. we have seen other researchers to the of manchester, and more arrests to today. we don't know the connection today. we don't know the connection to this flat. we don't think anyone has been arrested in connection to
2:53 pm
this search going on, but there are detectives ( the clicks per sifting through whatever they have found, seeing what the connection could be to the attack on monday. lots of reporters and camera crews here as well waiting to see if there is any news. we have been expecting an update from greater manchester police about how the investigation we re police about how the investigation were generally is unfolding. this gives you an idea that there is progress in this investigation. they are searching to more and more —— searching more and more pop at his. you were down in fallowfield, what can you tell us about the real is there —— the reads their? can you tell us about the real is there -- the reads their? not a great deal, just that more properties research this morning and that three people were arrested as a result of those searches conducted by greater manchester police. we understand that heavily armed units
2:54 pm
we re understand that heavily armed units were involved in those searches. it shows you how careful the police are being and how determined they are to perceive this investigation as quickly as possible, to get hold of as much evidence as they can so they can build a bigger picture about who work behind this attack. the threat level was raised across the country because, as the prime minister said, they thought there was a wider network involved here. the priority for the police is to work out exactly who might have been involved in that network, who put together this plan and this bomb that was detonated the such effect, and how quickly can these people be arrested and questioned. so, huge resources being put into the investigation. moving around the city, do you get the sense that security has been stepped up? are you seeing armed officers more on the streets? there
2:55 pm
area officers more on the streets? there are a great number of armed police officers on the streets, but one thing we haven't seen in this city is the military out on patrol as we have seen in london. huge part of the city centre are still cordoned off as the city centre are still cordoned offasa the city centre are still cordoned off as a result of monday's attack. a large area around manchester arena is still taped off as investigators go over that seen hunting for as many clues as they can find. this investigation has been spread out to the suburbs, to the south of manchester, and this scene in the centre of manchester. a very busy time for greater manchester police, lots to sort through and follow up on. it is taking up a great deal of police resources but they're making a great deal of progress, too. why do you think they are making such fast progress? is it because this is a tight—knit libyan community. would people know a lot about each other‘s
2:56 pm
business, and the police getting help from the community? the statement from didsbury mosque would certainly seem that there is keen to help the police as possible. there has been such shock across manchester and beyond over what happened on monday, so i think anybody who does that anything is keen to work with the police. there have been clues for the police to follow up. they were quickly able to identify who they thought was responsible. that quickly lead to a couple of properties searched yesterday. heavily armed teams involved there, very forceful raids that it neighbours by surprised. they were scared by what they saw. 0ne they were scared by what they saw. one of the houses have the door blown in, that is how serious the blues were about getting in there as quickly as possible. with every step, the police gather more information. that means they have more detail to work through. there is all this cctv evidence to be
2:57 pm
viewed from the city centre and from people's bones and so on. that is the kind of material they were aske and four at the start of the week. all that takes time to go through. they have thrown all the resources they have at this so they can follow up they have at this so they can follow up the leaves as sharply as they can. police operations have been bowing up can. police operations have been popping up here and there across manchester as they perceive those leads, but... if each step takes them that the closer to understanding this network and to the others may have been that were involved. we are waiting for this press co nfe re nce involved. we are waiting for this press conference with the chief co nsta ble of press conference with the chief constable of greater manchester police, ian hopkins. we will keep talking until we see him. there is a north—west counterterrorism unit here which involves agents from m15. there is the expertise in the north—west that there will be tapping into. indeed, yes. greater
2:58 pm
manchester police, itself the second biggest force in the country, well resourced and a great deal of experience in that force dealing with these complex investigations. no doubt, this will be one of the biggest investigations they have ever undertaken. so many people involved in so much information to work through. that will take time, but the progress they have made has been quick. we are only two days on and for many people they are still trying to take on exactly what happens and the impact of it. there are insured temp one still being treated in hospital. a lot for people in manchester to take in —— victims. we have seen the threat level increased last week to critical and the extra resources that that means will be out and about at the hands of the police if they feel they need it. amber rudd has said that the suspect in the
2:59 pm
bombing hands be known by the intelligence services. dan, thank you. let's take you to the chief constable, ian hopkins. we are confident that we have now spoken to the immediate family of all those who sadly died in the attack and they are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers. i am also aware of speculation on social media and the wider media around the occupation of one of the victims. sadly, i can confirm that one of the victims is a serving police officer, but respecting their family's which is i will make no further comment at this stage. due to the number of victims, the home office postmortems are likely to take for or five days. then we will be able to formally
3:00 pm
name of the victims. i would like to confirm that we have spoken to all of the families of those that in our hospitals and we are doing all we can to support all of them, too. you will be aware that the level of activity in this investigation is intense and is continuing at a fast pace. we have made three further arrests in connection with attacks overnight and this afternoon we entered an address in manchester city centre using a controlled explosion. 0fficers city centre using a controlled explosion. officers are currently at the scene searching that address but in order to execute that entry we did have to close a mainline railway line for a short period, but this now has reopened as we continued the researchers. that brings the total number of people in custody
106 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC News Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on