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us, we are back at 6am tomorrow. Stay with us on BBC News for special

coverage from Manchester. Children were among the dead.

Suddenly, there was a massive flash and then a bang. Smoke, and I felt

pain in my foot, on my leg. It turned out to be my wife, who was

stood at the side of me. She said she needed to lie down. She has got

a stomach wound, possibly a broken leg. One of those injured says that

the floor was covered with metal shrapnel and glass. Witnesses inside

the arena described a stampede as panic spread. We have been treating

this as a terrorist incident and we believe at this stage that the

attack last night was conducted by one man.

Right now the Prime Minister is chairing a meeting of the

government's emergency committee, Cobra. Her Home Secretary, Amber

Rudd, described it as a barbaric attack. Screaming, shouting, just

people mad, a chaotic rush to the nearest exit. It sounded like

something really hot just flew over us and landed behind me and my mum

and my sister. And we all dropped to the floor.

This morning we live in Manchester and we will be talking to people who

were at that concert, those young people, those teenagers targeted by

a suicide bomber. A lone man at this stage, as far as the police know,

who exploded a device in the foyer of the Manchester Arena just after

Ariana Grande finished her concert. We will get reaction from the police

and from local politicians and from people who live and work in

Manchester. This part of the city centre is really quiet, as you would

expect. We are not far from the arena. When you arrive, it is packed

at the Delhi station. People are going to work, getting the kids to

school because that is what you have to do even though there has been a

terrorist attack in your city. Good morning. We are bringing you

full news from Manchester this morning. -- we're bringing you full

news. Twenty-two people -

including children - have been killed and around 60

injured in a suspected terror attack at a pop concert

here at Manchester Arena - Some children with their mums and

dads. Police say one man acting

alone is thought to have Let me take you where I am in

relation to the Manchester Arena. We are at the end of Chapel street.

Maybe 200 metres away, underneath one of the bridges, is the

Manchester Arena. And you can see the steps up to it, like any big

stadium. Perhaps the biggest indoor venue in this country. We are told

that it was full last night. The capacity is 20 21,000 kids,

teenagers, young people, mums and dads, watching Ariana Grande. One of

the biggest US artists. Police say that one man is thought to have

carried out a suicide attack. People here are absolutely shocked by what

happened. We spoke to some people at the concert, they had their bags

packed. They are too traumatised to speak.

The blast happened at 22:35 last night.

This is the moment the explosion took place.

Oh my God. What's going on? What happened. Oh my god!

Eye witnesses reported being blown thirty feet.

Paramedics at the scene told the BBC they had treated some of the wounded

This footage shows the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

Andy was nearby where the explosion took place.

I did not go to the concert, my wife and daughter did. I was waiting up

at the first set of doors. As I was waiting, an explosion went off and

it threw me through the first set of doors, 30 feet, to the next set of

doors. When I got up, there was about 30 people scattered

everywhere, some of them looked dead. They might have been

unconscious but there was a lot of that all it is. My first thing was

to run into the stadium, to try to find my wife and daughter. When I

could not find them, I went back out with the police and the fire and

ambulance, whoever was there, I looked through some of the bodies,

trying to find my family. Luckily they were not there. I managed to

find them outside, and I took them back to the hotel. But I phoned up,

because so many reports were coming in, it was like a balloon, and

things not happening, but it was definitely an explosion and there

was definitely a lot of that all it is.

Outside the Arena many parents were waiting

Emma was there to pick up her fifteen year old daughter

The kids were in the concert on the Rhone and me and my husband, we

dropped them off. Their bags had been checked by the security, and

there was security on all night. You could not get into the arena. It was

definitely in the foyer. We were stood at the top of the stairs, and

the glass exploded. It was near to where they were selling merchandise.

It was definitely a bomb. Definitely. The whole building shook

and there were bodies everywhere. Body parts. It was the worst ever.

It was definitely not in the arena, definitely not, because of the

panic, because of the sound. We obviously then went to try to find

our children. Unfortunately for us -- and fortunately for us we were

safe to tell the story. Some parents are still desperately

trying to find their children. Charlotte Campbell hasn't

heard from her daughter, Olivia Campbell Hardy,

since last night. Her name is Olivia Campbell Hardy. I

last had contact with her at half past eight last night. And she was

on her way to the concert? She was at the concert. She had just seen

the support acts and said she was having an amazing time. She was

thanking me for letting her go. Was she with other people? She was with

her friend, Adam. And have you heard from him? Adam was found about half

an hour ago, but Olivia has not been found. Obviously you have friends

and family searching. What are you doing to try to find her? I am at

home, falling everybody, the hospitals, the police. All of these

centres that the children have been put in. Her dad is actually in

Manchester, looking for her. I have got friends out looking for her. I

have got people but I do not even know looking for her. People are

messaging me, saying that they have got a photograph and they are

looking for her, and they will get in contact if they see her. I am

just hearing nothing. Her phone is dead. The extra help you're getting

from people you do not know is because you made an appeal on social

media? Yes. Social media has been wonderful. I don't know what I would

have done without them, because it has made people so aware that she is

missing. Thousands of people now she is missing and there are people out

looking for her. But I cannot thank these people enough for giving up

their time. And what have the police said to you about what you should

do? They have told me to stay put and wait for a phone call. And there

is nothing more you can do, is there? There isn't, because I

daren't leave the house in case she gets on somehow.

People are posting photographs on social media of those

who are still missing - though some are

I'm going to talk to Karen forwards, who was at the gig with her

daughter, Isabel. A 14th birthday treat. We will also speak to Karen's

husband, they are on separate lines. Karen, good morning. Good morning.

Tell us what you can about what you experienced last night. It was

awful. It was just unbelievable. To hear that poor woman's story now, I

was lucky I brought my baby home last night. She will be celebrating

her birthday on Sunday but some children will not be. The concert

had just finished and Ariana Grande had left the stage. The lights came

up and everybody started to get their bags together. We started to

walk towards the staircase. All of a sudden, there was a huge, loud bang.

In the opposite corner of the stadium. It sounded like an

explosion, but there was no flash, there was no smell, there was

nothing else to say that it was an explosion. But the noise was

deafening. And everyone just stopped on the tracks and looked towards the

corner. And then someone shouted, it's a bomb, and then it was just

utter chaos and panic. People were falling over barriers, jumping over

barriers, trying to get up the stairs. There were people find us

who were just crushing everybody in front of them. There were not that

many staircases where you could actually leave because they wanted

to avoid the corner. We have 15 or 20,000 people trying to exit. It was

just awful. I was trying to tell my daughter to keep calm and to get out

safely. But within that time, we did not know that it was a bomb. So we

left the building. As we came out of the doors, all the staff had gone. I

presume they may have gone round to the explosion, I don't know. There

was no one anywhere. There were shoes on the floor that people had

obviously lost as they were running away. We just followed the masses,

we followed everyone else out onto the street. There were children

crying, everybody was on their phones, trying to find their

parents. There were parents outside. The concert was full of young girls,

12, 13, 14, whose parents had probably drop them off and gone to

have a good time with their friends, and easily the parents were outside.

It was just awful. I had my daughter with me safe and we did get out, but

then we had to then find my husband, because they had dropped us off and

they were coming to pick us up. So he had heard the explosion about

half a mile away, and he came running down towards the arena. He

tried to phone but he could not get through on his phone. But it was

just for outside. It really was. The poor families. And how is your

daughter? She is in shock this morning. She is

quite upset, she has had a few tears. The reality has sunk in that

she has gone to a concert, but she is just incomplete or of Ariana

Grande. We have had these tickets for months, and they came around her

birthday, which was brilliant, brilliant time. And the concert was

fantastic, and then for that to happen and for people her age to

have probably died, I think she has realised how serious it is.

She has not gone to school today. Neither of my children were in a fit

state to go. I'm going to speak to your husband, Stewart. Can you hear

me? I can, Victoria. It is unimaginable for most of us,

actually, but for you, frantically trying to find your wife and

daughter, can you describe what that was like? I don't think I can.

After the bank, I turned to my son, and we were sat about half a mile up

the hill, with a marina. We have found a getaway, so we could get

away from the traffic. But it was off the main road. We heard this

bang, and I looked at him and I went, that sounded like a bomb, but

I didn't think anything else of it because not for one second would I

think it was a bomb, it just sounded like a bomb. And then probably 20

seconds later, I could see other parents who were parked on the main

road getting out of their cars, and I thought something is not right.

Everyone is getting out of their cars all of a sudden. I grabbed hold

of my son and I said, come on, we are going. And I ran to the main

road and started asking a few of the adults what had happened. But this

time, the kids were getting up the road. They were literally running

from the arena. And they just said, it was a loud bang, but no one

actually knew. So I tried to phone Karen and for some reason it was not

connecting, and it was just ringing out or they engaged tone. We were

running down the hill, and it was frantic, it really was. Panic had

set in by that time. How did you find them in the end

the? Eventually Karen picked her phone up. The exit that she had come

out of what the exit I had dropped her off. We got our bearings. It was

a case of trying to find a focal point that we could see, so we could

meet up. But that seemed to take forever. How do you reflect this

morning on British kids being at a pop concert in Manchester, at the

gate of a huge American star, being targeted in this way? Saluki aweful.

You cannot comprehend it. The little kids who are there, the sheer panic,

it is awful. I am really grateful for your time, considering what you

have gone through, thank you very much. We wish you and Isabel all the

best. Karen was at the concert with her daughter, it was her daughter's

14th birthday treat, they hurt the bomb go off, Ariana Grande had just

left the stage, the lights had come up, and then they heard this

enormous bang. As Karen explained, someone said, that sounds like a

bomb. Their 14-year-old pretty traumatised today. We will bring in

some more people, somebody who was at the concert, somebody who lives

close by, and our correspondent. Describe what happened from your

point of view. We were just getting ready to leave, she had just

finished, and we heard a bang. Everybody just stopped, there was

silence and panic, every body was sprinting up the stairs, trying to

jump over the barrier, onto the floor. We were quite near the front,

so we waited until everybody would get out. There were people tripping

up over the stairs, pulling people up the stairs, panic, trying to get

out. As we got up to the four yea, there was smoke everywhere, trips of

blood on the floor, leading out of the main entrance, so we ran back to

the Hotel to try to get safe. We did not know what had happened.

Initially people thought it was balloons popping, because at the end

of the concert a load of pink balloons had been set off. Yes, but

it was too loud to be a balloon. The security said one of the sandboxes

had blown and that of the noise, but they did not know what was going on.

A lot of people knew it was not just that. It happened to be what it was,

and it is quite horrifying. How are you? All right, a bit shaky still, I

was shocked and shaken last night and crying a lot, but I am getting

better. You live close by, you heard the explosion. Yes, I arrived home

from work at 10:15pm. I got into my flat and almost immediately I heard

an explosion so intense, it shook me to my core. A noise and an

experience I have never felt before. I work for a radio station in

Manchester, the journalistic instinct kicked in, and I made my

way to the scene. The main approach to the Manchester Arena was filled

with people, some of them looking unsure as to what was going on. A

couple of minutes later, panic and chaos set in. This was on the

Victoria Station side? There are several excellent. That's right. It

is the side closest to the train station. I spoke to a guy who was

willing to talk to me on the record, the first words out of his mouth

were suicide bomber, and my heart sank into my stomach. From there, it

was trying to piece together what was going on. People were uncertain,

it was pure chaos. It was a difficult time. But there was an

incredible amount of community spirit, incredible act of bravery

from the emergency services. We talk about that a lot, but I saw a convoy

of 20 ambulances driving directly into the point of danger, it was an

incredibly heart-warming... We did not know what was going on, there

was speculation about a sandbox having blown, but I knew that would

not be the case, not that intense explosion. The picture started to

become clearer. We will talk to our correspondent in a moment, but

first, Steph McGovern is at the Royal Infirmary. 60 people were

injured, what can you tell us? This is one of eight hospitals where

casualties are being treated. A lot of and... Are arriving overnight. It

is been a bit quieter this morning, it has mainly been police coming and

going, but in the early hours it was really busy, with ambulances

bringing the casualties, and relatives. You were talking about

people looking for their loved ones, and we have seen the same here as

well. There was a 17-year-old girl who had been to the concert with her

mum and her mum's wavefront, she came to the hospital looking for

them, she found her mum's boyfriend, but had not found her mum, so she

was continuing to travel around, looking for her. There is confusion,

but there is support in the area, we have had staff who are not on duty

who have been offering to come in, all hands on deck, to do extra

shifts. They have been told by the director of the unit to only come in

if they are asked. And there is security as well. Lots of people

have been let's ask for ID before they are let in. Only those who need

serious treatment are being allowed in. Another issue is getting the

blood here for people who need it. Across the road the donation centre.

They have been over to have a chat, they are opening up early, and I

have seen quite a key people heading that way to donate blood, so if you

are registered to donate, there are lots of centres around the city

where you can do that. If you are not registered, you can get

registered and then give blood over the next few days, that is important

to help the people here. Staff are here, and the next shift are coming

in, not knowing what to expect. This is a major incident, they announced

that this morning. We do not yet know the number of casualties in

this hospital, we will be given more information on that. Given that it

is an ongoing investigation, there is a lot that we are not being told.

But the emergency services are working really hard this morning,

and we will give you updates as we get more information.

This is the worst atrocity in Britain since 52 people were killed

in the London bombings in 2005. The Chief Constable of Greater

Manchester Police is Ian Hopkins. This has been the most horrific

incident we have ever faced in Greater Manchester, and one that we

all hoped we would never see. Families and many young people were

out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena armour and sadly

lost their lives. Our thoughts are with those 22 victims that we now

know have died. 59 people who have been injured and their loved ones.

We continue to do all we can to support them and they are being

treated at eight hospitals across greater Manchester. As you will

appreciate, this is a fast-moving investigation, and we have

significant resources deployed to the investigation and the patrols

that people will see a cross Greater Manchester as they wake up to the

news of the events of last night. This will include armed officers, as

people would expect, and more than 400 officers have been deployed on

this operation throughout the night. The Prime Minister Theresa May has

suspended election campaigning and is currently chairing a meeting of

the Government's Cobra committee. She said her thoughts were with

those affected and what she called an appalling terrorist attack.

Jeremy Corbyn has tweeted... I am horrified by the horrendous event in

Manchester. My thoughts are with those who have been killed and

injured. There is a phone number for those who may have been caught up in

the attack. It is the member for anybody concerned about relatives or

friends who may have been caught up in the attack. Gary Walker was

inside the arena when the blast happened, and he was injured.

A massive flash, and then a bang, smoke, and I felt a bit of pain in

my foot and my leg. I turned around to my wife, and she said, I need to

lie down. I had to lie her down on the floor, she had a stomach wind

and possibly a broken leg. The doors wait you come out of the arena into

the foyer where they have merchandise, somebody had just come

through the doors and then, bang. There is glass and nuts, metal nuts,

that have been packed in the device that has exploded.

The explosion happened just after Ariana Grande had left the stage.

She tweeted this. When she walks offstage, she left

hind a venue filled with joy young people. Moments later, it was

transformed into a scene of multiple deaths. You have been talking to

lots of people this morning, what are they saying? They are

devastated, shocked, and we are less than 12 hours since this happened,

and down the road, running down the middle of the shop, these steps,

down which thousands yesterday fled. Many thousands of children among

them, and we are seeing some of them filing past this morning, they are

eventually going home, they have perhaps what a few hours' sleep

overnight. The young couple who had come down from Cumbria, the young

man and his girlfriend who spoke of the blood that they saw and the

injured that they saw, and then the mother and her 19-year-old daughter,

she had stepped in at the last minute, her daughter's friend

dropped out, the mother came along, and they described managing to get

out, and they hid under a bridge for 40 minutes, because they were so

afraid. The other people that I met, this mother who left the concert

early, because she was with her ten-year-old daughter, and they

wanted to get her home, so they missed the explosion, but it will

live with them forever. 21 years ago Manchester was targeted. Just up the

road. On a Saturday morning in June. I was one of those evacuated from

the city centre. Not too dissimilar from today. Devastation in terms of

the infrastructure, nobody was killed that day. At the leader of

the City Council said this morning, this is just appalling. I have been

to Paris after the attacks there, I have been to Burling after the

Christmas market attacks, we saw what happened in Nice, these

attacks, cities rebuilt themselves, Manchester knows that, other cities

know that, they rebuilt themselves. But it is incredibly difficult for

families, and is there a hierarchy of death, according to the age? I

don't know, but it seems particularly horrific that children

were among the 22 who died. The police and the intelligence services

have told us for some time now that something like this could happen,

would happen. It has happened now in Manchester. It was a deliberate

targeting, it seems, of young people at a pop concert, predominantly

young teenage girls, ten-year-old girl that I mentioned and others, a

targeting of those people by a man who put an improvised device on

himself, walked in there at the end of a concert, when people would be

leaving, and set off his explosive. It is horrific. How do you cope if

you are a mother or father of one of the children who has been lost in

this? It is ten o'clock. Good morning. A

suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester has killed 22 people and

wounded nearly 60 overs. Children are amongst the dead. The whole

building shook. There were bodies everywhere. Body parts. It was the

worst ever. Police said the lone male attacker died when he detonated

the device as the crowd was streaming out of the Manchester

Arena after a gig by the American singer, Ariana Grande. We have been

treating this as a terrorist incident. We believe that this stage

the attack last night was conducted by one man. One of those injured

said the floor was covered with metal shrapnel and glass. Witnesses

inside the arena described a stampede as panic spread. Screaming,

shouting. Just people. A mad, chaotic rush to the nearest X it. My

wife was by the side of me. She said, I need to lay down. I laid her

down on the floor. She has a stomach wound, possibly a broken leg. The

Prime Minister, Theresa May, is chairing a meeting of the

Government's mode in committee, Cobra. The Home Secretary described

the attack as barbaric. This was a barbaric attack, deliberate

targeting some of the most vulnerable in our society. Young

people, children, out at a pop concert. My thoughts and prayers go

out to the families and victims who have been affected.

Good morning. Live from Manchester this morning where it is pretty

calm, pretty quiet on this side of town. We are just of Dean skate.

Behind me, about 200 metres away, is the Manchester Arena. The complete

contrast to last night where, from what I witnesses said, there was

total chaos, total confusion, as an explosion occurred just after an

Ariana Grande concert. What we now know, according to the police, is

that 22 people were murdered by a lone, male attacker, who detonated

that device at the end of the gig and at least 59 people are injured.

Police say they are treating them as a suspected terror attack. They are

asking for people who may have been filming on their phones at the time

to upload footage to a particular website. The capacity at the arena

about 20 1000. This morning there are various people leaving the local

travel Lodge, the local premiere in. Leaving with their suitcases. They

had come here to watch one of their favourite pop stars. They are

leaving pretty traumatised this morning. Around Manchester, there

are armed police officers and extra unarmed officers. The leader of the

city council said earlier this morning that is to reassure people.

Also, from Piccadilly station to hear, the walk of a couple of miles,

there are thousands of people still going to work, still going about

their daily business, taking children to school and so on and so

forth. That is what happens when a city is targeted by terrorism. In

the end you just have to go on. I have spoken to many people. They are

shocked, devastated. They are also phlegmatic and in pragmatic mode as

well. The Prime Minister has been chairing a meeting of the emergency

committee, COBRA. We are going to be talking to Eleanor who is on

Whitehall. Is the meeting still going on? We think the meeting has

just finished. I'm standing outside the Cabinet Office. We have seen the

Defence Secretary leaving in the last few minutes, as well as other

ministers. We think the meeting problems started about nine o'clock

and went on for about 15 minutes. It is the most senior meeting you can

have in Whitehall. There would have been the Prime Minister, the Home

Secretary but also very senior police officers and also security

leaders. What they will have been doing is updating the Prime Minister

and other politicians on exactly what they know about what happened

in Manchester overnight. They will be talking about the intelligence

they have managed to gather so far and what they have learned about the

attacker and perhaps may be what they have found out about whether he

was working alone or whether he had been working with others. We have

not yet had an update on the exact findings of the meeting. We have not

had read out from the meeting. We know that all campaigning in the

general election has been suspended. I understand the Prime Minister

called the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, overnight. They had a

phone call and decided that all national campaigning should be

suspended. The Green Party, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, who were

meant to launch their manifesto today, all those parties, Ukip as

well, they have also backed political campaigning in the general

election will be suspended. We don't yet know when it all with you. This

is an extremely serious terror attack. Of course it will be taking

up the Prime Minister's time and, in a mark of respect, all politicians

have decided any campaigning should be suspended. Thank you. It is six

minutes past ten or so it can bring you the latest from Greg Dawson. --

we can bring you. Oh, my God! This is the moment concert arena filled

with teenagers can children opponents transformed into a scene

of confusion and panic. Thousands of people immediately scrambled for the

exits. I was like, we need to run. We started running, straight out the

doors, all the way to the hotel. Like kids here where people

screaming and crying. Everyone was running everywhere. Police believe

the attack was carried out by one man, who detonated an improvised

explosive device he was carrying. It is believed he died in the blast.

This has been the most horrific incident we have ever faced in

greater Manchester and one we all hoped we would never see. Families

and many young people are out to enjoy a concert at Manchester Arena

and very sadly lost their lives. Manchester Arena has a capacity of

18,004 concerts. Last night was filled with young people. Police say

a number of children are among dead. I was near the box office on the

Fourier where it happens, waiting for my family to come out. I was

talking to one of the girls who was talking about going away with the

kids and that. Talking about Florida and now. Had it not been for her

talking to me and holding the door ( I think I would have been injured.

Because the door was open we got blown forward towards the arena.

Everyone who was ten, 15 foot behind us, every one of them got injured.

At least 60 ambulances were sent to the venue with the injured taken to

eight hospitals across the city. Paramedics say many were treated for

shrapnel like injuries. Ariana Grande tweeted their words, broken

from the bottom of my heart. I am so, so sorry. I don't have words.

The singer wasn't hurt in the incident. When she walked off stage

you left behind are venue filled with Joy. Moments later it became

the scene of multiple deaths. Greg Dawson reporting in the centre of

Manchester. On this billboard behind me you can see what has just been

put up there. Pray for Manchester. We stand together. I have various

people to talk to. Various of them were at the gig last night. Caitlin

Haywood and Joseph Harris. Thank you for talking to us. You were both at

the concert will stop we were literally just right in front of the

stage, one row behind it. As soon as the concert finished, we heard a

massive bang. It was that loud it filled the entire room with the

noise. As soon as everyone turned around and wondered what it was,

everyone wondered where the bomb was. They were all screaming and

running back. Did you know immediately it was a bomb? I knew

straightaway it was a bomb. Everyone was saying it was a balloon but

balloons don't make that noise was that it was not a speaker. The next

worry I thought was that people with guns would come in full but luckily

that did not happen. I just knew it was a bomb. There was nothing else

for it. Joseph, what about yourself? My experience of the show was

incredible. She was flawless as always. After the bomb went off, it

was panic in the entire room. When you have a lot of preteen boys and

girls, when they are all panicking and trying to get out, there will be

mass hysteria. People will try to push past each other and get hurt. I

got stuck in a huge line of people who stopped because they did not

know the situation. The had to climb over chairs, fences and gates that

had been locked to try to get out of the arena. We did get to do that but

at the same time it was still terrifying and personally are

horrendous and to a perfect night. Sam Daniel, come a little closer.

Tell us where you are and what you did? We just came back from the

cinema. We came out and there were sirens going. We did not know what

was going on. I live just around the corner full it was not till we were

getting close to home and we started to see people who are crying. It was

really distressing. We did not know what was going on. There were

rumours there was a bomb. It was really sad. They were beginning to

called on everything. Such a massive difference from last night to this

morning when it was business as usual. People passing straight

through. Where you are able to help and comfort people? We didn't know

what was going on. At first we thought maybe someone had been

knocked over by a car. Then the amount of police that were coming

and ambulances, we thought, something else had happened. We knew

something a lot bigger had happened. How do you respond to the fact a man

with some kind of explosive device did this? I feel really terrified

that that did happen. It is a rare occasion that happened suddenly. You

never thought with you there at that moment it would happen. You would

spend so many months planning to do and all of a sudden, as soon as that

moment has come, someone decided to planet for many months as well. It

is terrifying to realise that anything like that can happen no

matter what. For us to be in that situation with so many younger kids,

younger than us, maybe six, 12 years. How old are you? 16. How old

are you? 16. Hadi you reflect this morning? Basically I am trying to

get over it. With a situation that has occurred it will take a long

time for people to get past this. We have come up to 22 fatalities and

over 59 injured. I personally think that is astonishing. It is

horrendous the amount of damage not only to infrastructure but the

damage to personal families. There are a lot of people who never got to

go home from the concert. Personally I think that is horrendous. Thank

you very much. Thank you very much. We can go live to Downing Street

where Vicky Young ears. General election campaigning has been

suspended. We don't know how long for. What is the latest? We know

there has been an emergency meeting of senior government figures chaired

by the Prime Minister, Theresa May. The meeting has broken up. They

would have been dealing with practicalities of what happened in

Manchester. We think she will make a statement. The task the hurt is not

just to talk about the practicalities but to sum up the

mood that everyone is feeling, the despair, the hurt that everyone is

feeling. Looking at what has happened in Manchester. The role of

the Prime Minister is not just about the practical side of all of this. I

do understand she is planning to head to Manchester to visit the

scene in some form, as you might expect. The political campaigning,

the election we have been in the middle of, or the toing and froing

of the political debate, that has completely stopped with all parties

deciding not to campaign. The Prime Minister does have some other things

on she has to do which are international meetings so that could

mean the heat of the election campaign, if you like, has probably

dissipated for a few days. In Downing Street and a lot of the

buildings around here in Westminster, the flags are at half

mast, as you would expect that because what has happened with the

worst terrorist attack on British soil for many, many years, since 7/

seven. Something that Theresa May unfortunately would have expected to

have dealt with at some point for that she was Home Secretary before

that for many years is something she is well aware of and, of course,

that experience would be coming to the forefront as she chose this

meeting today. We do expect words from her at some point in the next

view as an improbably the trip to magister later. -- in the next few

hours and probably the trip to Manchester later.

In terms of the counterterrorism investigation, where would you

begin? An attack like this, it was so well articulated by those

youngsters that spoke before me, it has involved a lot of planning. This

is a step up from what we have seen recently with terrorist attacks,

such as the Westminster attack, where no planning needed to be done

to commit that attack. This attack does involve someone being able to

get hold of explosives or make explosives, turned them into a belt

and make the effort of putting bolts and things in it to kill people, and

then has used it at one of the most effective times. This is a much more

professional style attack, which means to me, and I have some bad

news, this is not potentially get over. I would be very surprised if

there was only one suicide belt, if only one set of explosives was used,

and I would be really surprised if only one person was involved. The

police will be working really hard to try and identify this person that

has been involved, those that are involved in potentially be group,

and bring those to justice before they can do any more harm. Which is

one reason why the Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable

said, please don't speculate about this man's name on social media,

because they would not want to tip off any accomplices. You would not

have to go to Syria to get training to get the expertise to make that

explosive device, would you? Know. What we have seen is, with the

Internet and the ability to tweet and send messages, people within the

UK can get access to how you make a bomb. The good news is the security

services are onto people very quickly. But it does take some

skill, you have to have some knowledge to make explosives. It

appears this has been done quite professionally, with some thought as

to how they were going to attack. It is important we understand how we

need to come together as communities if we are going to stop this, got

the moment somebody gets a bomb strapped to them, it is too late, we

are going to have casualties. Communities need to be willing to

come forward to police and tell them about their suspicions, to stop this

from happening. The Labour mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham has tweeted

this, please join us for a vigil at Albert Square at 6pm tonight, we are

grieving today, but we are stronger. That echoes his words when he made a

live statement earlier this morning. That is in the centre of Manchester.

What is the likelihood that this man will turn out to be someone known to

the security services? Almost certainly. We know that there are an

enormous number of people that are known to them, but there is not the

resources to follow all of them. Almost certainly this person will be

on the radar, but not under the microscope, and that is a big

difference. We need to understand that the police are doing a great

job to protect us, but they cannot be successful 100% of the time.

Subsequent to the attacks in London, in Westminster, the police have

arrested people pretty much every day for terrorist style planning.

They are doing a great job, but we have to accept, with the resources

they have, we cannot have 100% security.

He is the former head of National counterterrorism security. Let me

remind you that we are broadcasting from Manchester this morning. It is

calm today, complete contrast to the utter devastation and chaos and

confusion of last night, when a pop concert was targeted by a lone male

attacker, say Greater Manchester Police, who exploded some kind of

device in the foyer of Manchester Arena, just as crowds of children,

teenagers, young people, parents, were streaming out, at 10:40pm.

Sadly, 22 people have died, and there are children amongst those

dead. 59 people are being treated in eight hospitals around Greater

Manchester. Andy Burnham, the mayor, tweeted this in the last few

minutes, join us for a vigil in Albert Square at 6pm tonight, we are

grieving today but we are strong. We will talk to Nikki, who was at the

gig with his daughter and girlfriend.

Tell us what you saw and heard. Ariana Grande had just gone off

stage, everybody was starting to leave the arena, and where you go up

the stairs and out into the reception, where the toilets are,

and the shops, we were walking past, there were a lot of Stuart pointing

the way, so we were following back. All of a sudden, there was a huge

bank. I didn't think it was around where we were, it must have been

round the other side will stop we did not see anything or feel

anything like others have said. We just heard it, it was a really loud

bang. Immediately, I thought, what was that? A bit of a panic. At first

I thought it was a bomb, but I thought that maybe they are

dismantling the stage and something had fallen over. Within seconds,

people behind me started screaming and running past us. That is when I

started to panic, and I thought it was a gunshot and people have seen

it from behind. I grabbed my daughter and said, run, and we

started running, hundreds of people running. We got to the stairs, there

was pushing and running, getting down as quickly as we could. There

were two or three flights of stairs. I looked back to find my girlfriend,

I could not see her. We ran onto the road, there were lots of people then

crying and shouting. We ran to the other side of the road, I was

looking for Nicole, my girlfriend, I could not find her. I gave her a

call, she was calling me as I pulled my phone out, so I told her where we

were. We did not know at that point what had happened. We did not see

any casualties, we just walked up to the car, we saw the police car pass

us, and we got in and started driving and put the radio on, and

that is when we heard people ringing in, saying there had been an

explosion. They still did not know what it was at that point. Until

later on, we did not realise how serious it was. You must be very

shaken this morning? Yes. We have not slept very well. It was a task,

we live in Leeds, so the M6 city was closed, we got we diverted, it was

1:30am when we arrived home, we put the news on, we had a look at what

had gone on, and we feel so lucky that we have got out of there, and

have escaped it. It was full to the brim of children and teenagers, my

daughter is nine, it was her Christmas present, she is a massive

fan of Ariana Grande, she has been excited about this since December,

and it is so sad that somebody could do something like this. They did not

even search us when we went in. They asked Nicole to open her handbag, a

steward flashed a torch in there for half a second. They did not search

me or my daughter or tell us to undo our jackets. It was straight

through. He was at the concert with his

girlfriend Nicole and his daughter summer. Let me tell you about the

emergency telephone number, for people who are trying to find

friends or relatives, and you may have seen some appeals on social

media for those looking for loved ones. Some of those fake accounts.

For those who are concerned about friends or relatives that may have

been caught up in the attack, he is the number to call.

A huge counterterrorism investigation is under way? That is

right. It has been a horrific night for officers here. It is a

fast-moving investigation that they are now dealing with. Across Greater

Manchester today, resources have been ploughed not just into the

investigation but into visibility, so the public get reassurance that

the police are out there in the face of this terrible tragedy that

happened last night. It is confirmed that 22 people died 59 injured, and

still in hospital, eight hospitals across the area will stop Ian

Hopkins spoke here earlier this morning, he was very quick to say

that they had been treating this as a terrorist incident, while the

attack was conducted by one man, the priority now is to establish whether

he was acting alone or part of a network. He confirmed the attacker

died at the arena, and they believed he was carrying this improvised

explosive device that has been talked about this morning. The

important message they are putting out is not to speculate on his

details or to share names, this is a complex and wide-ranging

investigation that is under way. The Chief Constable has impressed upon

the public, please, not to share that information. He says the

priority is to work with the National counterterrorist policing

network and the UK intelligence services to establish more details

about the individual who carried out this attack. A high police presence

in Greater Manchester this morning, while I have been here I have seen

armed police patrolling the area. The police are also imploring the

public to help them out, if they see any suspicious behaviour, they are

asking it be reported to the anti-terrorist hotline. 0800 789

321. And if people have any images or footage from last night that

would be helpful to the police, could you send that to UK police

image appeal .co .uk. We are expecting updates from the police

here later in the day. We are expecting the Prime Minister

Theresa May to give a live statement outside Downing Street. We do not

know when, but as soon as she speaks, we will bring that to you

live. She is planning to visit Manchester at some point, we are not

sure when, but we will let you know as soon as we do. I have two Labour

candidates for the general election campaign, your response to what

happened last night? It is truly horrific and our heart goes out to

the families and friends are affected. We know people who were

there last night, schools across Manchester, right across a much

wider region, will be talking to families and friends today, and it

is utterly heartbreaking. It is an evil act, a despicable, unspeakable,

awful act that was designed to cause hatred, division, and we have to

respond to that with love and unity, and that is the spirit of Manchester

that we see today. You echo the words of your colleague, Andy

Burnham, he said this will not divide this city, which is one of

the intentions, at least. Manchester has dealt with a terrorist attack in

the past, and it appears to be pulling together a game in a similar

way. We have got a history of this. There

was a terrible bomb which caused no fatalities that cause damage to the

city. Out that incident came the rebirth of our city. That is what we

have to try to do today. I am as full of anger as the next person at

what has happened, particularly given how many children and

teenagers, vulnerable young children were involved last night for the Wii

have to try to turn that anger into a positive action of unity and

solidarity. There is a vigil tonight in Albert Square. I am sure many

Mancunians will want to come to that. Many of the victims will come

from further afield than Manchester. This arena attracts people from

Scotland, Birmingham, Newcastle. Every community needs to stand

together, united, in the face of this, and say this sort of action is

designed to divide us and bring about hate. We will stand strong. It

will not kill the spirit of this city. The spirit of this city is too

strong for that. That is the message we want to give out today. How long

would you expect the general election campaign to be suspended

for? What would be appropriate? We need time to grieve and come

together across political party lines. We need time to hold hands

and have collective hug. I don't want to put a time frame on it. At

some point in the next few days our democratic activities will continue

because these kinds of terrorist acts are also designed to put at

risk our values of democracy, of free speech, of people being able to

have a boat and have a say. We must show them that is not going to be

halted, or changed, by these sorts of activities either. Thank you very

much. Good morning. Let's bring you up to date with what we know this

morning. 22 people have been killed and another 59 injured in a

suspected suicide attack at the Manchester Arena. The venue was

filled with thousands of children, teenagers, young adults come when

the device was detonated to cause maximum devastation. Let me tell you

where we are broadcasting to this morning. We are on Chapel Street, a

couple of hundred meters or so away from the magister arena. This is a

relatively quiet part of the city centre. -- the magister arena. There

is a huge counterterrorism investigation going on. There is

Blackfriars Street, you hit Deansgate, Picadilly station. That

is business as usual. Thousands of people going about their normal

business, shopping, going to work it meeting friends, so on and so forth.

A number of people, friends leaving the Travelodge and the Premier Inn

who went to the gig, stayed overnight and we have seen them

leaving this morning, heads down will stop they did not want to talk

to the media. Who can blame them? They just wanted to get home,

frankly. We know that the explosive device sent metal and debris flying.

Eyewitnesses reported being blown 30 feet. Paramedics at the scene said

they had treated some of the wounded for shrapnel like injuries. Many in

the audience were teenagers. This footage shows the immediate

aftermath of the explosion. I spoke to Joseph, who was at the

concert, when he heard the explosion. When the bomb went off it

was panic in the entire room. People would panic. When you have a lot of

preteen boys and girls, that is a lot of the demographic, when they

are panicking and trying to get out, there will be mass hysteria. People

will try to push past each other. People will get hurt. We got stuck

in a huge line of people who had stopped completely because they did

not know the situation. We had to climb over chairs, fences and gates

that were locked to try to get out of the arena. We did luckily get to

do that. At the same time it was still terrifying. Personally

horrendous and to a perfect night. Relatives have been using social

media to search for missing loved ones. Charlotte Campbell hasn't

heard from her daughter, Olivia, since last night was that she has

made this appeal for information. If you have seen my daughter Olivia, I

have not seen her since five o'clock last night was that she was at the

Ariana Grande concert with her friends. If anyone has seen her,

please contact the police. Contact somebody. Even if we think you have

seen her, let the police know, please. She is in dark clothes, and

off the shoulder top. Her hair is up, her hair is dark. She has five

high boots on. Please, somebody get hold of her. I am worried sick. We

have family out looking for her. Somebody must have seen her at some

point. Let me know you have seen her. Let anybody know you have seen

her. Please. Let me give you that emergency telephone number again.

This is the number for people to ring if they are concerns about

friends or relatives who may have been caught up in the terrorist

attack last night. The Prime Minister has been chairing

a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee. She is

expected to speak shortly. She will come here to magister to be briefed

on the investigation. Ian Hopkins is the Chief Constable of Greater

Manchester Police. He told that it was a lone male attacker who

detonated an explosive device in the foyer, where they were selling

T-shirts and various merchandise after the concert. We will talk now

to Graham Stringer, a Labour candidate in this general election

campaign which has now been suspended for obvious reasons.

You're also a former leader of Manchester City Council. This city

has experienced terrorism before, has it not? It has. The city has

come through. Manchester is a tolerant city. People have pulled

together after the huge bomb in 1996. If anything, the city was a

better place, both socially and physically after that bomb. As I

have been searching for adjectives to describe this event, Lucy and

Richard Lees, the leader of the council, and Andy Burnham, have

probably used all the adjectives. I think our response should be to

redouble our efforts to be tolerant between different communities, not

to be critical of people just because they are different, and to

be completely intolerant of people who start to use violent language,

whether it is directly in person or on social media. Those are the

sensible responses for what is an horrific event. I have taken

children to the Manchester Arena on a number of occasions, whether it is

a sporting event, whether they see their heroes, whether it is for a

concert. The excitement used C. Ten, in 11, 12, 13-year-olds. To have

carried out the bombing at such an event is beyond adjectives and

words. The police have asked people not to speculate on the identity of

the attack on social media as they launched this investigation.

Clearly, from what you were saying a moment ago, you are potentially

concerned about some sort of backlash. I am concerned, exactly

the same as Greater Manchester Police and the security services

are. People jump to conclusions. Whatever the conclusions, when we

know the evidence, this appears to be one person. Over the coming days,

weeks, months, we all in Manchester have to live together. The correct

response is to redouble our efforts to understand each other, not to

criticise each other and be tolerant of people who have chosen to live

different lives. That is the right response. If I can answer the

question you asked Lucy about, how long the pause in the campaign

should go on, I think it is right out of respect that campaigning

stopped today. Like Lucy I don't have a figure for that. I don't

think it should go on too long. Although we should grieve, and we

should show our sorrow, we should not give over to any bomber and any

violent people, the right to disrupt our democratic process. I think we

should get back to campaigning and discussing the future of our country

as soon as it is reasonably and respectfully possible. There are

some remarkable stories to emerge from last night. People opening

their doors to those who were panicking and fleeing. Taxi drivers

who were driving people away from danger, effectively, for no fair.

People coming together to help in that way. That says a lot about

Mancunians, doesn't it? Is it absolutely says a lot about

Mancunians and humanity. Frankly, we often only see the best of people,

the vast majority of people in the city whatever the ethnic, cultural

or religious background, they are good people who want to get on with

their lives. Quite often we only see the very best of people in awful

circumstances. I am not surprised that people went towards the sight

of devastation in order to help people. I am not surprised that

people opened their doors to let people in and hotels let people

stayed there who have made arrangements. It is right to talk

about good things after an event like this but it does give people a

chance to see the vast majority people are decent and, in situations

like this, beyond decent, brave and good. Thank you very much will

talking to us. Graham Stringer, former leader of Manchester City

council and a Labour candidate in this forthcoming general election.

Let me bring you two pieces of news. Exam boards are telling schools they

can rearrange GCSE and A-level exams after what happened here last night.

We have a joint statement from the exam boards. It will be up to

schools to decide whether exam should go ahead. The exam boards say

no students will be disadvantaged. Schools and colleges affected by the

bombing should contact the relevant exam boards. Students affected

should speak to their teachers. You will know that hundreds of thousands

of young people are taking exams this week. Exam boards are telling

people they can rearrange GCSE and A-level exams after what happened

here in Manchester last night was that there were appeals on social

media earlier this morning for people to give blood and various

donation centres were open. The NHS has tweeted, we have all the blood

we require for hospital patients at the present time. There we go. I

will introduce you now to a woman who has come to pay her respects. I

was at my friend's house. We're about to leave and get a taxi and

heard a bang. People were running. Teenagers were running. I had

flowers and I thought, it is really upsetting. They were so young. You

could see them excited to go to the concert. Pull something like this to

happen, it does affect you. It is our city. How do you reflect this

morning on what this city has experienced last night? Everyone is

really shocked. So many of us, we went to have dinner with each other.

So many people were about to walk to the station and left only a few

minutes beforehand. Anything could have happened. It is the shock of it

being targeted towards teenagers. That is what hit home about it. It

is also really resilient. People will come together. We also have to

remember we have to feel love for everyone. I am already hearing about

some of my Muslim friends being attacked in the streets. We also

have to be aware of that. We should unite and show respect for everybody

at this time. You are already hearing that from your friends? It

has happened to them or they are hearing it from others. A friend of

mine said someone spat at them on the street. I am looking at my phone

and we also have to member that is not what we need to do. We need to

come together. That is what people who do these things want to happen.

We are expecting the Prime Minister, Theresa May, to speak in a few

moments' time. I may interrupt our conversation if that happens we can

bring that to our audience life. When you leave a concert, you are on

such a high, you are joyous, and the barbarism and cynicism to target

people as they are leaving. What is even more shocking is people leaving

to enjoy themselves, and having watched people coming in, there were

people dolled up to the nines, running in so excited, and to have

that end in such a way, it puts a sour taste on what is such a vibrant

culture of music and live music in this city. I do not want that to be

taken away from people. There are other venues, I am worried people

will not want to go out. We have the Manchester ten K on Sunday, ... You

would want that to go ahead? Yes, but I want there to be more

security. We have to do those things, we have to get up and keep

on going, because if we don't, the people who do this want us to start

hating each other, and we have to do the opposite, we have to reunite.

You will have noticed the increased police presence around the city

centre, extra on armed officers and armed officers. You find that

reassuring? A friend of mine got into Piccadilly station and the

armed officers took her back, balaclavas, SWAT teams. It makes you

think even more apprehensive, what could happen next? But that needs to

be there. When I went downstairs and I saw the fear in the chair,

teenagers running, on their phones, crying to their parents, we need the

security presence to make people feel more comfortable. Let's go back

to Downing Street. What is the latest? We understand the Prime

Minister will come out shortly to make a statement. You can see the

podium is ready for her to come out and make the statement about what

has been happening. She was briefed overnight about the attack in

Manchester, we also know she spoke to the Leader of the Opposition

Jeremy Corbyn to tell him what was happening. The Prime Minister has

been chairing an image and see meeting of the Cobra committee,

involving other senior ministers, including Amber Rudd, the Foreign

Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the Transport Secretary, and from

Manchester was the Labour mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham. They will

have been talking about the practicalities, about what happened,

what they know about the person who carried out the attack, and about

how they have reunited people with their parents, but the injuries,

those things will have been discussed. There will have been

senior officers from the police and the intelligence services talking

about whether this person was part of a wider network, what the threat

level should be, whether there is a chance of anything else being at

large. All of that will be discussed, Theresa May will update

us on that, but she will also be here as Prime Minister to speak and

try and put into words what people feel about what happened, people's

anger, they're in motion, and the fact this was an attack that seemed

to be targeted at children will be something that she will touch upon.

Once she has made the statement, she will travel to Manchester, where she

will meet the emergency services, to thank them for the work that they

have done, but just overnight, but that they will be doing for the

coming days and weeks. I have just been talking to one candidate in the

general election, Graham Stringer, a Labour candidate for a seat in the

Greater Manchester area, and he said that the campaigning should be

suspended today, but he was keen that it was not put on hold for too

long, cos of the message that would send out in the face of terrorism.

It is a difficult one, because people today will be too shocked to

engage again with that kind of debate that we have had, the cut and

thrust of a general election campaign that has been going on for

a few weeks. It is difficult to even think about that getting back to

normal. It is slightly similar to what happened a year ago, with the

murder of Jo Cox, and I know you were speaking to Lucy Powell, I was

with her when that took place, and people were so upset and devastated

and shocked by what was happening, they could not think about getting

back into the political debate. This is on maybe a bigger scale than

that. On the other side, we know our politicians will say you have to try

and carry on, get back to normal, urging people in Manchester to make

sure they go to work, to live life as normally as possible, despite

what has happened. A sign of that would be that you get back to the

political debate as quickly as possible. But the Prime Minister has

international engagements in the next few days, it will be difficult

to get back to the intensity that we had this week on the election

campaign. That will not be the same for at least several days. It is

difficult for politicians to judge it. We know there are candidates

around the country who today have suspended their campaigning. On the

other hand we have seen already some people raking some political point

about it, Ukip's home affairs spokeswoman talking about Theresa

May's record in the Home Office and asking if she has done enough to

tackle this kind of thing. People are jumping to conclusions about who

might have been responsible. We will hear from the Mayor of Manchester

now, Andy Burnham. I cannot go into details on that,

and those investigations are ongoing. What I can say is there is

a need for the city and the city region to come together, so we are

making arrangements for a vigil in the centre of Manchester this

evening, in Albert Square, in front of the town Hall, because it is

important that we send out that clear message that though we are

grieving, we are strong and together. Extraordinary unity

demonstrated overnight across the city. Incredible. The idea that

people throw their doors open or make their car available to people,

it tells you everything about the people of greater Manchester, their

natural generosity. In many ways, it is the best response, because it is

what the extremists don't want, they don't want to think people will work

with each other and put themselves out in that way, but that is what

the people here are like. They will never beat us, we are strong. You

have come out of the Cobra meeting, where the services surprised by this

style of attack here, targeting young children? It is for them to

comment on the precise nature of the attack. We all feel a sense of

abhorrence at the nature of this attack. I am not alone in saying

that my kids have been at that venue, at that particular time of

night, everybody here has a similar experience, where the chaos of the

event ends, the kids, happy and excited, for individuals to go there

and seek to terrorise those children and young people and their families

in that way is the most appalling, evil act that I can imagine.

Everybody is appalled by this tragedy and attack, but do you think

communities now have a responsibility, if there are people

they know who may be responsible, surely there has got to be a change

in mindset now? If people have any information, they should make that

known through the counter terrorism hotline. There is a way for them to

do that. But what I would also say is that people perhaps should avoid

some of the ill informed comment on social media. Take the lead from

what the police are saying before people jump to conclusions about

this attack. For goodness' sake, let's not descend into a situation

of mutual distrust between our communities. The individual who

carried this out is an extremist and does not represent any of our

communities, does not represent the people of greater Manchester in any

way, shape or form. It is very important that message is heard. Are

you any closer to identifying the attacker? That is not for me to

comment on. What is your message for people of Manchester on how to cope

with the situation for the young girls that were there last night,

their families and friends? I am so proud of them, occurs they are

already coping. They responded in the best possible way, with

generosity, with a kindness. That was humbling and it sends a message

to the whole world about what kind of people we are here. That for me

is something that I think should make every person in this darkest

hour proud that people responded in that way, and I would like to thank

them for doing that. It is a red case -- it is a case of returning to

business as usual as possible. You have a seriously the ship role in

Manchester, how will you get people through the next difficult few days,

weeks and months? It is an important role that I have got to fulfil, but

I will. I will ensure that the people of Greater Manchester have

confidence in what we are doing, as leaders of the city region, working

with the police, the NHS and the other emergency services. We all

have long experience in politics, we will work closely to ensure that

Greater Manchester pulls together and gets things right and gives

confidence back to the public. But I would also say we want to bring this

city region back together, and I would urge people to show their

support by possibly attending the vigil tonight, the most important

message we must all send together is we are united and we will not let

them win. We are united, we will not let them

win, the words of Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester,

speaking outside Greater Manchester Police headquarters. He said an

extremist was responsible for the attack last night. Clearly he would

not comment on operational details. There will be a vigil this evening

in front of the town hall in Albert Square in the centre of Manchester.

Manchester City Council say that books of condolence are now open at

the town Hall, and on their website, following the event. Donald Trump

has been speaking about what happened in Manchester last night,

he condemned the attack. As president of the United States,

on the half of the United States, I would like to begin by offering my

prayers to the people of Manchester in the United Kingdom. I extend my

deepest condolences to those so terribly injured in this terrorist

attack and to the many killed and the families, so many families, of

the victims. We stand in absolute solidarity with the people of the

United Kingdom. So many young beautiful innocent people living and

enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life. I would call

them monsters -- I will not call them monsters, because they would

like that term. They would think it is a great name. I will call them

from now on losers, because that is what they are, they are losers. We

will have more of them. But they are losers, just remember that.

Donald Trump and his press spokesman has tweeted that the president

has... It is worth remembering some of the

words from the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham when he

spoke this morning, visibly shocked, clearly will stop he said, it is

hard to believe what has happened, because they were children, young

people, and this was an evil act. He thanked the people of Greater

Manchester for opening their doors to help the thousands who were

pouring out of the arena after that gig last night, for helping them get

away from the scene, taxi drivers driving people away from danger, as

he put it. He said, the spirit of Manchester will prevail, and it will

hold us together. We are grieving today, but we are strong. Manchester

has experienced terrorism before, the last time it was targeted was by

the IRA. One June morning in 1996. Not dissimilar to today, although it

was a Saturday morning, the city evacuated, accursed telephone

warnings were found in, and on that date nobody was killed, but the

centre of Manchester was devastated. Sadly, 17 years later, at least 22

people have been killed, and at the moment we know 59 injured.

Good morning from Manchester where a major police investigation is under

way after the shocking bombing at a sell-out pop concert near to where

we are broadcasting from this morning. 22 people have been killed

and around 60 injured in the attack. It is thought a suicide bomber

detonated a device to cause maximum devastation at the event which is

full of young fans of US singer Ariana Grande. Many were under 16

years of age. The Manchester Arena is a couple of hundred metres away

from here, just down this road here, underneath the bridge. It is all

cordoned off as you would expect because it is a major crime scene.

Counterterrorism officers are there. You can see the steps outside the

venue where thousands would have poured last night in chaos and

confusion as they tried to get out of the arena having heard what

witnesses have described to me as an enormous explosion, a loud bang.

Many new immediately it was a bomb. Of course, it was indeed foyer, the

public area as you go from the arena to Victoria Station. As people were

trying to leave, they were tripping over each other, falling over each

other, trying to help each other and find loved ones. The explosion sent

metal and debris flying. Eyewitnesses reported being blown 30

feet. Paramedics told the BBC they treated some of the wounded for

shrapnel like injuries. Many in the audience were teenagers. This

footage shows the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

16-year-old Caitlin and Joseph were at the front of the arena when the

bomb exploded. They explained to me how they managed to get out. We were

literally just right at the front of the stage, one row behind it. As

soon as it finished, we heard a massive bang. It was that loud it

filled the hole, entire room with that noise. When everyone turned

around, they were all screaming and running back. Did you know

immediately it was a bomb? I knew straightaway. People were saying it

was just a balloon pub balloons do not make that noise. It was not a

balloon or a speaker. That is not the noise they make at all. The next

worry was that people with guns were going to come in. We did not know

what would happen after that. I just knew it was from a bomb with the

noise. I have just chaired a meeting of the Government's emergency

committee, Cobra, where we discuss the details of and the response to

the appalling events in Manchester last night. Our thoughts and prayers

are with the victims and families and friends of all those affected.

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. 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. I want to tell you what I can at this

stage. At 10:33pm yesterday, police were called to reports of explosion

at Manchester Arena in Manchester City centre, near Victoria train

station. We now know a single terrorist detonated his improvised

explosive device near one of the experts of the venue, delivered each

using 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. This attack stands out for its appalling, sickening

powerless. Deliberate targeting innocent, defenceless children and

young people who should have been enjoying one of the most nights of

their lives. As things stand, I can tell you that, in addition to the

attacker, 22 people have died and 59 people have been injured. Those who

are injured are being treated in eight different hospitals across

Greater Manchester. Many are being treated for life threatening

conditions. We know that among those killed and injured were many

children and young people. We struggle to comprehend the warped

and twisted mind that sees a room packed with young people not as they

seem to cherish but as an opportunity for carnage. But we can

continue to resolve to thwart such attacks in future, to take on and

defeat the ideology that often fuels this violence. If the turnout for

others responsible for this attack, to seek them out and bring them to

justice. The police and security services believe the attack was

carried out by one man. They now need to know whether he was acting

alone or as part of a wider group. It will take some time to establish

these facts and the investigation will continue. The police and

security services will be given all the resources they need to complete

that task. The police and security services believe they know the

identity of the perpetrator. At 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 had in place and the exercises they conduct to test those

plans. 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 to save lives and care for the wounded.

Significant resources have been deployed to the police investigation

and there continue to be visible patrols around Manchester, which

include 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 detailed

forensic search is under way. We know 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. The Independent joint terrorism analysis Centre which sets

the threat level based on intelligence available to them will

continue to assess this throughout 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 time of need. As I mentioned last night, the

general election campaign has been suspended. I watch Erin at a meeting

of COBRA later today. At terrible moments like these, it is customary

for leaders, politicians and others to condemn the perpetrators and

declare the terrorists will not win. The fact we have been here before

and the fact that we need to say this again does not make it any less

true. For, as so often while we experience 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 attempted to divide us met countless acts of kindness

which brought people closer together and, in the days ahead, those must

be the things we remember. The images we hold in our mind 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. 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 to all those who open their homes to

the victims. They are the images that embody the spirit of Manchester

and the spirit of Britain. The 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 families and friends of those affected. We offer our full

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. The Prime Minister,

Theresa May. Let's talk to Vicki Young, our political correspondent

in Downing Street. The Prime Minister describing this as a

cowardly attack and saying it was an attack on innocent, defenceless,

young people. Yes. She was really trying to sum up the hurt that

people feel. I think she said it was difficult to understand this

cowardly attack. I think the fact it was directed at that place, at that

time, directed clearly children and young people. She said it was very

hard to understand the senseless nature of all of that. The

practicalities of it, she says the police do think they know the

identity of the person who carried out the attack, the person who died

alongside the 22 others in Manchester Arena. She said they are

not at this point naming that person. Of course talking about the

community standing together, people standing together, with Manchester,

talking about the spirit of Britain. Also making the point we have been

here before. The fact that she has to come here, yet another Prime

Minister having to deal with this kind of atrocity. It is very

difficult for people to bear. She also made the point there are many

being treated in hospital who still, at this point I have life

threatening injuries. She said they will now be trying to work out

whether the attacker worked alone or not. This work will continue in the

coming days. She has said she will travel to Manchester shortly and

meet with the police in Manchester and the mayor of Manchester, Andy

Burnham, who we heard from earlier. There is a sense of comedy you just

get on with your normal, everyday life but St Bede will they had to do

that? -- everyday life but saying to people. Also remembering the carnage

they had to deal with overnight. The Prime Minister confirming she will

be travelling to Manchester later on today where she will first of all be

briefed by the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. We can

speak now to the director of international Security studies at

the foreign affairs think tank, the Royal United services Institute.

From the information we have so far, what are your thoughts on what

happened last night? I think clearly what has happened is a terrible

terrorist atrocity, murdering very young people as they were enjoying a

night out. Clearly we are looking at a fairly callous act. In terms of

determining the origin of this attack, the ideology that motivated

the attacker, we do not know. It is too early to say. As we heard from

the Prime Minister, authorities have identified the individual. They do

not want to share that information yet. Why that is could be because

they are trying to understand if it is part of a wider network or they

are trying to pin down to the individual was. We have seen on

social media, some who follow organisations like so-called Islamic

State celebrating what happened here in Manchester last night. Yes, you

see that fairly regularly, unfortunately, these days, after any

sort of incident, especially a high-profile thing like this. You

will see people who are described as fan boys of extremist organisations

quit shouting about how wonderful this is an praising the act and

seeming to show their support for it. I do not know that we can draw

anything from that in terms of saying a particular group has been

involved in the incident. They often have no idea what they are talking

about but catch the crest of the wave and shout from the rooftops or

on Twitter. I do not know we can draw any particular conclusions from

that. If we look at the statements we have had from the so-called

Islamic State this morning, they have a Daily News digests they put

out. They have not made mention of what happened in Manchester. It is

difficult to draw any conclusions about what that means. Does it mean

it is part of a larger effort and they are waiting to sort of see...

Waiting for something else to happen, or not claim it? There have

been incidents in the past very clearly linked to them they have

never claimed. I do not necessarily know we can draw a direct

correlation to what we often see in terms of noise on social media.

What do you draw from the fact that this was an explosive device, as

opposed to what is described as something more crude, a knife, a

vehicle? Sort of a number of points to draw from that, the first is, to

remember that while we had seen a trend in terrorist planning and

terrorists narratives and ideology and messaging, there was a push

towards people using low-tech attacks, using knives and cars,

whatever was in the world around you, that did not mean that they did

not want groups to continue building bombs, they are far bigger devices,

they have a far bigger shocked and effect and so groups continue to

want to do that but the difficulty with bombs is that they are not that

easy to make and to be able to know that you have made a device that

will go off when you want it to go off is something that requires

usually some training or practice or both. What we can draw from the fact

that we have a device that went off, when the individual wanted it to go

off, in the middle of this crowd of people as they were leaving the

concert, would suggest a certain level of sophistication, but what we

can draw from that is very difficult to know at this stage, whether that

is training or an autodidact, in the past, when we have seen loan bomb

makers, they tend to be individuals who do a bombing campaign. A series

of incidents rather than a one off. Thank you very much, director of

international Security studies at the foreign affairs think tank the

Royal United services Institute. We have a statement here, which

releases the name of one of the teenagers that was killed last

night, from a college in Manchester, I will read the statement, it is

with enormous sadness that it appears that one of the people who

lost their lives in the attack was one of our students here at the

college. Georgina Callander was a former pupil studying with us on the

second year of health and social care course, deepest sympathies,

thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends, and all of those

affected by this loss, we are offering all available support

possible at this tragic time including counselling with our

dedicated student support team. So, a statement from Ramshaw college, in

Manchester expressing enormous sadness that one of those that lost

their lives was a pupil, Georgina Callander, studying at Runshaw

College on the second year of her else and social care course. Earlier

we heard from the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian

Hopkins, he gave the assembled media the latest on the attack and

investigation. This has been the most horrific

incident that we have ever faced in greater Manchester, and one that we

all hoped we would never see, Hamleys and many young people were

out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena and have sadly lost

their lives. Our thoughts are with the 22 victory and we now know have

died. 59 people who have been injured and their loved ones. --

families and many young people. We continue to do all we can to support

them, and they are being treated at eight hospitals across greater

Manchester. As you can appreciate, this is a fast moving investigation

and we have significant resources deployed to the investigation and

the visible patrols that people are seeing across greater Manchester as

they wake up to the news of the events of last night, this will

include armed officers as people would expect, and more than 400

officers have been deployed on this operation throughout the night. To

remind you, we were called at about 10:33pm, to reports of an explosion

at the Manchester Arena. This was at the conclusion of the Ariana Grande

concert. We received more than 240 calls and emergency services

responded very quickly to the scene. Emergency numbers have been

established, for anybody concerned for love ones who may not have

returned home. These numbers are 0161 856 9400 and 0161

856 9900. We believe at this stage the attack last night was conducted

by one man. We are treating it as a terrorist incident. The priority is

to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network. The

attacker, I can confirm, died at the arena. We believe the attacker was

carrying and improvise to close a device which he detonated, causing

this atrocity. We would ask people not to speculate on his details or

share names. This is a complex and wide-ranging investigation. Our

priority is to work with the national counterterrorism policing

network and UK intelligence services, to establish more details

about the individual who carried out the attack. We have received

tremendous support from across the police service in England and Wales,

and partner agencies throughout the night. We regularly carry out

exercises to test our ability to respond to such incidences, and this

has ensured swift response from local and national agencies. I want

to thank all members of those emergency services and other

agencies who have worked tirelessly throughout the night, in very

difficult circumstances. Their response has been quite outstanding.

There remains a large cordon in place around Manchester Arena and

the Victoria train station, which will be in place for some time. The

station will remain closed, while the detailed forensic search is

underway. People should plan their route to work, following transport

for greater Manchester for updates. Terrorists will attempt to disrupt

our lives and creates distrust and fear in communities. We have a long

history here in greater Manchester of community standing together

during difficult times. In the coming days we will be working very

closely with community leaders, to address any concerns or issues that

our communities will have. It is important that we all continue to

remain vigilant, but that we go about daily life, we would ask

members of the public to be alert and report any suspicious activity

to the police anti-terrorist line, the number of which is 0800 789 321

all you can call 999. As people are waking up to the tragic news, the

office and staff of Greater Manchester Police and other

emergency services and our partners will do all they can to help us

through the difficult days ahead. Finally, I would like to appeal to

any members of the public that may have footage from last night, or

images that they feel can assist in investigations. If they can upload

them to UK police image appeal, the website, we would be very grateful.

Ian Hopkins, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, 24

minutes past 11, this is BBC News. We will now cross to a hospital in

Stockport, our correspondent Dominic Hughes is there, what is the latest,

where injured are being treated? Good morning, this is one of eight

hospitals, the Chief Constable saying across the greater Manchester

area where the injured were taken after last night's bombing, the last

13 hours, it is fair to say, has presented a significant challenge to

the local NHS, across the greater Manchester area, but also one they

have risen to and met with very successfully. I know most of the

injured will be taken to one of the major former centres at Wythenshawe

Hospital and at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, in the centre of the

city, had some -- but some cases were brought here, to stepping Hill,

and I know that of those, eight were adults and one was a child. And

earlier this morning, I was told that three of those cases were still

in surgery, three have been moved to the wards -- six have been moved to

the wards, three are facing a precarious position and are

understood to be seriously ill. -- Stepping Hill. We also know that at

this hospital, there were several walk-ins, people who drove

themselves home from the concert and then came near, having suffered

minor cuts, grazes, bruises, that kind of thing. There were a

significant number of people who arrived at the Accident and

Emergency department here, seeking help in the aftermath. They came

here under their own steam. Nine major trauma cases, more at

Wythenshawe and Manchester Royal Infirmary, and eight in total

hospitals around the greater Manchester area. I know that here,

they were inundated with staff coming in when they heard about the

emergency, to the extent they had to ask staff not to come in because

obviously the next few days will present a challenge, that brings me

onto a wider point, the NHS as a whole is saying, Accident and

Emergency department are operating as normal but they are appealing to

people to think carefully as always before going into a and D, because

departments have been under extra pressure over the last 13 hours. --

A And they say they have adequate supplies of blood, lots of people

offering to go to blood banks and give blood, but they say they have

adequate supplies, although they always welcome people willing to

donate blood. There are eight hospitals treating people still in

the aftermath of this bombing, at this hospital, in Stepping Hill,

nine admitted, three still in a serious condition.

We have just received news that the Arndale Centre, the big shopping

centre here, which many of you know, has been evacuated, described as an

urgent evacuation, police evacuating the area around the Arndale Centre,

people have been seen running, probably about 100 metres or so away

from here, where we are, a couple of hundred metres from the Emmy in

Arena, the Manchester Arena, where there is calm. We heard earlier from

the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, a little earlier, this is

what he had to say. We want greater Manchester to pull

together, and get active to being what we are. If not, that is giving

in, isn't it? Very much so, that is the message that has always come out

of greater Manchester, 1996, people may remember the IRA bomb, and the

Euro 96 game went ahead the next day, it is not in our nature, we are

not going to be defeated, we will not be bound by extremists. They