23/05/2017 BBC News at Ten

We're in Manchester, where 22 people have been

The terror threat level has just been raised to critical ,

meaning a further attack may be imminent.

It happened at the end of a pop concert attended

by thousands of young people, when a man detonated a bomb

It was soon apparent that a major atrocity had taken place,

as police and emergency services rushed to the scene.

Shouting, just people - mad, chaotic rush to the nearest exit.

All I could hear was screaming, crying, people running everywhere.

Among the victims were 18 year-old Georgina Callander,

eight-year-old Saffie Roussos and 28-year-old John Atkinson.

Earlier today, police named the suspect as

He's understood to have been born in Manchester

Police and Security Services launched a wide-ranging

investigation, as the Prime Minister shared the outcome of the latest

meeting of the Cabinet emergency committee. It is now concluded, on

the basis of today's investigations, that the threat level should be

increased, for the time being, from severe to critical.

Among the thousands of fans at the arena last night,

there were many who'd been looking forward to the concert

It had been building up for me, for like years. Since we got the

tickets, it was so exciting. It's turned into like the most traumatic

thing. We'll be reporting on the remarkable

strength of spirit among the people of Manchester and how the community

has responded. And we'll talk to people who

attended tonight's vigil in the heart of the city, where they heard

a message of strength and solidarity.

And in other news tonight - the actor Sir Roger Moore has

He was best known for playing the spy James Bond.

His family said he'd had "a short but brave battle with cancer."

We're in Manchester where the worst terror attack Britain has seen in 12

years took place late last night, at the end of a pop concert

22 people, including some children, are known to have died and 59

people were injured, when a suicide bomber

detonated a device as people were leaving the concert.

Police have named the suspect as 22-year-old Salman Abedi.

The BBC understands he was born here in Manchester

Tonight, the Prime Minister, a few moments ago, announced that the

terror threat level is being raised from severe to critical. That is the

very highest level. Mrs May said it was possible that Salman Abedi was

part of a network, planning further attacks.

Our first report tonight, in this extended programme,

is by our chief correspondent, Gavin Hewitt.

There are distressing images in his report on the attack.

Police were called to the arena just after 10. 30pm last night after the

performance from the American star, Ariana Grande. The explosion

happened in the foyer that connects the venue to Victoria train station.

Those injured are being treated at eight hospitals in the Greater

Manchester region. Earlier today the Prime Minister chaired the first of

today's meetings of the Cabinet's emergency committee, known as COBRA.

She made a statement in Downing Street, condemning the callous,

appalling and sickening attack, before then making her way to

Manchester to see police and members of the emergency services here. All

election campaigning was suspended for the day. Our first report

tonight, in this extended programme, is by our chief correspondent, Gavin

Hewitt. There are some distressing images in his report on the attack.

Ariana Grande's concert was coming to an end. From the foyer, the sound

of an explosion. Oh, my God. What's going on. What just happened. What's

going on. Oh, my God! There were screams, then running. A crowd of

children, teenagers, parents, all heading for whatever exit they could

find. Near the entrance, 22 people were killed, around 60 were injured.

Suddenly, a massive flash, a bang, smoke and my wife, I had lay her

down on the floor. She's got bruising there. She's had one that's

under her chin there and bruised. She's probably broken her fever in

her left leg. -- femur. Something really hot just flew over us and

landed behind me and my mum and my sister. Then we all like dropped to

the floor, but then my mum told me they're running, then I realised

when I tried to run back, in because I was worried, I shouted my mum, but

I couldn't hear anything because this ear is all blocked and it were

just really scary. All I could hear was screaming, people crying.

Everyone was just running everywhere. It was completely

madness. This is a public safety announcement... It was like out of a

film, everyone cramming through. People had cuts like on their arms

and their legs. The injured were taken to eight hospitals across

Greater Manchester. Some families and friends were split up in the

rush to get emergency treatment. Armed police units patrolled the

streets by the arena, before the night was over, the police knew they

were dealing with an attack by a suicide bomber, with a home-made

explosive device packed with metal fragments. During the night,

specialist teams were brought in, in case there were other explosive

devices. It was a deliberate attack on children and young people, timed

just at the moment when parents were waiting to pick up their sons and

daughters. 400 police officers were deployed along with forensic teams.

Earlier on, police knew the identity of the bomber, but they didn't

reveal his name until late afternoon. I can confirm that the

man suspected of carrying out last night's atrocity is 22-year-old

Salman Abedi, however he has not yet been formally named by the Coroner

and I wouldn't wish to therefore comment any further about him at

this stage. Salman Abedi was the son of refugees, a student at Salford

University. On the streets today, survivors, reliving the terror of a

concert that ended with murder. This is Helen and Issa bella. We hit the

corridor, when we saw masses of people running in absolute terror

and panic to get out of the place - young, teenage children, 14, 15.

There were mothers with children carrying them over their shoulder.

There were people with even wheelchairs panicking to get out.

Laura and Isabella's concert ended in a chaotic search for an exit. We

just ran, I don't know which entrance we came out of, we just

ran. But we also found two girls that had lost their parents or had

to get home on their own. We were - they were very scared, obviously,

because they were on their own. Thank you. Manchester has been a

city on edge today. Shaken by alerts and rumours and a shopping centre

evacuated. It is now beyond doubt that the people of Manchester and of

this country have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack, an attack

that targeted some of the youngest people in our society, with cold

calculation. This was among the worst terrorist incidents we have

ever experienced in the United Kingdom and although it is not the

first time Manchester has suffered in this way, it is the worst attack

the city has experienced and the worst ever to hit the north of

England. Dozens of people are still trying to trace loved ones after

last night's bombing. Among the missing, Olivia Campbell, aged 15.

Some of the first victims of the attack have been named. Georgina

Callander was aged 18, seen here with Ariana Grande at a previous

event. John at kin son, aged 28 from Bury. And eight-year-old Saffie

Roussos was among those killed. It was an attack directed at young

people, at innocence. During the day, police raided a number of

houses, a 23-year-old man was arrested in connection with

yesterday's bombing. An attack on a family event happened here last

night was long feared. Preventing a determined suicide bomber is

incredibly difficult. The priority for the police will be to discover

everything they can about this man, whether he's part a wider network

and whether there is a risk of further attacks. Tonight, the Prime

Minister raised the threat level to its highest category. It is now

concluded, on the basis of today's investigations that the threat level

should be increased, for the time being, from severe to critical. This

means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly

likely, but that a further attack may be imminent. Tonight, thousands

of people gathered outside the Town Hall in a mark of defiance. One by

one, members of different faiths insisted they would not be cowed.

These were Sikhs with placards, "I love Manchester". Then the crowd

heard from a local poet Tony Walsh. There's hard times again in these

streets of our city, but we won't take defeats and we don't want your

pity because this is is the place where we stand strong together, with

a smile on our face, Mancunians forever, because this is the place

in our hearts, in our homes, because this is the place that's a part of

our bones. Because Manchester gives us such strength from the facts that

this... Is THE place. Defiance, yes, but questions too as to what drove a

young man to murder so many. Gavin Hewitt, BBC News.

That statement tonight by the Prime Minister when she announced that the

terror threat level has been increased to critical, that is the

highest level, she made that statement in the past half hour or

so in ten Downing Street. Let's talk about that decision. We talk to our

Security Correspondent at MI5 headquarters in Central London and

our political editor in Downing Street. Gordon, first of all, talk

to us about this decision to raise the threat level and what that means

in practical terms. Yes, the announcement was made based on

intelligence from the joint terrorism analysis centre, which is

based here in MI5. It is only the third time ever that the threat

level has gone up to its highest level and the first time in ten

years. Now why has it happened? Well a source I've been speaking to has

said all day the focus of the investigation has been - did Salman

Abedi act alone or was he part of a network? And this evening, they

could not resolve that there weren't other people who could still be out

there and pose a threat. They are not saying they know for certain

that there are others out there, who are planning an attack. They just

cannot rule that out at the moment and based on that, the Prime

Minister has taken the decision that an attack may be imminent and the

threat level needs to be raised to critical. What does it mean in

practice? What it means advisably, tomorrow, we will see the military

out on the streets in places where previously we would have seen armed

police. That will be the visible sign something called Operation

Tempura. Behind-the-scenes, the efforts here at MI5 will be trying

to resolve that question - are there other people out there still who

pose a real threat? Gordon, thank you. Let's go to Downing Street and

talk to Laura. Second time today, Laura, the Prime Minister's chaired

the emergency committee known as COBRA. What are Downing Street

telling you tonight? # It's a very serious step for any Government to

make, raising the threat level like this, a step that has not been taken

on the advice of the Security Services for ten years. Of course,

it's a step that members of the public will see and feel when

they're out and about tomorrow, as Gordon was saying. In some places we

will see members of the military on the streets supporting the police.

This is a big step for any Prime Minister to take and it's one that

has obviously not been taken lightly. It's clear there's a wider

belief in Government it's not possible to rule out the possibility

there was a wider plot in action here. There could have been, there

could yet be a bigger group of individuals who'd been involved in

the horror of what unfolded last night with potential plans for

something else. Of course, this is all unfolding right in the middle of

a general election campaign, a campaign that's been characterised

by clamour and noisy debate. But in the last few minutes, all the main

parties have confirmed that for them, the campaigning tomorrow is

out of the question. The campaign, their hostilities, are suspended the

Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May have been in frequent touch today, I'm

told. They've spoken again in the last couple of hours. This is a

moment when despite all their political disagreements, tonight,

for once, the political parties are in agreement about one thing: That

their disputes with each other come second to the security of us all.

Thank you again, with the latest from Downing Street and MI5, in

Central London. As we've heard, the first victim

to be named was Georgina Callander, an 18-year-old student

at Runshaw College in Lancashire. Another of the victims

was John Atkinson, who was 28. And the youngest to be named

so far was Saffie Roussos, who was eight years old,

from Leyland, in Lancashire. They were among the thousands

who had travelled to the Manchester Arena for the concert

by the American singer Ariana Our special correspondent,

Ed Thomas, reports now The youngest life lost -

eight-year-old Saffie Roussos, at the concert with her mother

and sister from Lancashire. Today, her headteacher said

she was simply a beautiful little Also killed, student

Georgina Callander. This was the teenager

meeting the singer in 2015. This afternoon, Runshaw

College in Leyland said: Our thoughts and prayers go out to

all of Georgina's family, friends, and all of those

affected by this loss. My daughter left for school

at 8:30am this morning and I was just praying that nobody

from her school was involved, and around 11 o'clock,

the school announced Georgina Callander had been

confirmed, that she passed away last one down the road so,

you know, all within four miles, Also confirmed among the 22

who died, John Atkinson from Bury. Friends said the 28-year-old

old was an amazing young man. And tonight, families are still

waiting to hear from loved ones, people like Chloe Rutherford

and Liam Curry, from South Shields, Courtney Boyle and Philip Tron from

Gateshead, the daughter of Angelika and Marcin Klis has

asked for help finding her parents. Wendy Fawell from Leeds

has not been found. And mothers Alison Howe

and Lisa Lees are not accounted for after visiting the Arena

to collect their children. Behind every face,

a desperate search. You haven't seen this girl

by any chance, have you? Excuse me, I'm just asking if you've

seen this young girl? This is the uncle of

15-year-old Olivia Campbell. Her family asked us and other media

to show her picture and publicise We have been as close

as we can to the arena. We have friends and family

going to other hospitals, friends in Blackburn who work there,

looking at their hospital. We need to get in contact

if anyone sees her. Just a phone call and we can go and

get her. Manchester is also

remembering the injured. It's thought 12 of the casualties

are children under 16. Clearly, there are a number

of individuals who have very, very serious injuries

and are requiring intensive care. And people who are going to be

in hospital for a long time. And tonight, at least

some cause for hope. Laura McIntyre, here on the left,

has been found in hospital Her friend from the Isle of Barra,

Eilidh McLeod, is still missing. It's beyond comprehension

and understanding. We know that Laura is in hospital

with serious injuries and we have no further news on Eilidh McLeod than

we had earlier this morning and that Like so many others,

young lives changed in seconds. Ed is at the Manchester

Arena for us tonight. Which is a couple of hundred yards

away. Just reflecting on the fact that you have spent most of the last

24 hours reporting on this dreadful event and spoken to a lot of people

today, what are your impressions today about how people have

responded? The response has been great. It has been uniform, people

have come together determined to try and hold on and show the good side

of Manchester, to show a positive image, but what is difficult to

leave here is the images of children, young children, teenagers,

in shock and in disbelief. We watched when it -- many on their

phone trying to get hold of their parents, just wanting to leave this

city. And parents trying to get hold of their children, they did not know

where they work and if they were safe or they had been heard. And in

the middle of that, confusion. We watched strangers coming to court

like this and giving out bottles of water to offer help and one image

has stuck with me of a father holding onto his two children, two

daughters, 12 and ten. He said, where am I? I want to go home. A

stranger said, I am not a taxi driver but I will take you home, you

will be safe. Many people holding onto that goodness because what

happened here, an attack on younger, defenceless children in the foyer

after a concert has left many people in complete disbelief. Thank you

again, reporting all day outside the Manchester Arena.

The latest figure is that 59 people were injured last night,

including 12 people under the age of 16.

Many are being treated in eight hospitals in the

Our health editor, Hugh Pym, is at the Manchester Royal Infirmary.

What is the latest on those being treated? Of those 59 patients, nine

of them are here at Manchester Royal infirmary. We do not know how many

seriously injured or with life-threatening conditions. Some of

them are in the state and had been in intensive care and we are told

some could be in hospital for quite a while yet. Talking is North West

Ambulance Service and NHS leaders, it has been made clear however much

you plan for this, nothing can prepare you for the sadness and

shock of a tragedy like this. But there is a quiet sense of relief

that the disaster plan they drew up was put into practice and it gets

delivered. And they say they spend money months planning for just a

scenario like this. A major incident was declared, hospitals were called

in, the staff were called in overnight, the stuff they needed,

and others came in who were not on duty, so many that some were sent

back home. The Ambulance Service as well were greatly backed up. The

point they want to make is the spirit of local Manchester people.

People donating blood over the road bringing in food throughout the day

for staff. They say they are very thankful, another example, they say,

of the spirit of Manchester. Many thanks. The latest at Manchester

Royal infirmary. By noon today, the police had

arrested a 23-year-old man He's thought to be from Chorlton,

in South Manchester. One of the priorities

for investigators is to find out if the suicide bomber was working

alone or was part of a network that might have been

planning other attacks. That is why they have raised the

threat level to critical tonight. Mark Easton, is at the Greater

Manchester Police headquarters The report does contain flash

photography. Who was behind this

attack on innocents? As the concert ended

and the lights came up, as children left for home,

music in their ears, smiles on their young faces,

who chose that moment Take your time and

exit the building. Police are convinced the suicide

bomber was Salman Abedi and they are desperate to find out if they have

accomplices still at large. Our priority along with the police

counterterrorist network and our security partners is to continue to

establish whether he was acting alone or working as part of a wider

network. A man named as the suicide bomber is Salman Abedi, 22, born in

Manchester. The son of Libyan refugees who fled from Colonel

Gaddafi, an apparently normal boy who went to a local school and

supported Manchester United and worked late in a bakery. Today,

officers launched raids on people thought to have been associates of

Abedi. A 23-year-old man was arrested in the Manchester district

of Whalley Range. At another house in Fallowfield, a controlled

explosion took place. When you watch films and you hear a bomb go off,

but with muffled sound, the parents were screaming. It was like what you

see on a movie, everyone was literally scared at that moment and

we got to the Avenue and we saw the police and it hit home that it is

real, or on your doorstep. This part of the City is known to have been

home to a number of Islamist extremists in recent years, some

with links to Syria and Libya. Abedi is understood to have returned from

the Libyan capital of Tripoli a couple of days ago. To construct a

viable bomb that can be safely transported and secreted through

security and detonated on command is not something and it can easily

achieve. Police say the device was home-made with report contained nuts

and bolts and ball bearings and nails. The view among security

expert is the attack bears the hallmarks of a coordinated

operation. This attack was planned and premeditated. And they're almost

certainly will be other people involved in this attack. The most

important thing is to catch them and to identify them and to bring them

into custody and until we have done that, this attack really is not

over. Almost exactly a year ago, police and emergency services in

Manchester held a training exercise for just this kind of terrorist

incident. Stay down! For a number of years, the threat level has been set

at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely, it now it is

critical, an attack is expected imminently. Understandably, the City

is nervous, people on edge. There is a determination not to be held by

terror. Manchester United is the fitting response to eat fishes

attack on this fair Manchester City is -- is to a vicious attack.

Our home affairs correspondent, Daniel Sandford, is at

Greater Manchester Police headquarters.

This is within the hour, the Prime Minister having told us about the

terror threat level is being increased. What are the police

saying? Are they got a good start to the investigation, they got an IDS

earlier Arnon on the man who Salman Abedi believed to be the suspected

suicide bomber because he had identification on Emma so they were

quick to raid addresses linked to him and carry out a controlled

explosion to break into an address and to identify him as a 22-year-old

man who was born here to refugees, from Libya. Then it became difficult

because they just could not get to the stage where they could rule out

the possibility of others so that is the ongoing question and critically

tonight, they also have not got to the bottom of of why a man who grew

up here and went to school here suddenly turned against the country

that gave him refuge. Thank you, Daniel. The latest thoughts at

Greater Manchester Police headquarters.

As we mentioned earlier, election campaigning

Theresa May, who visited Manchester, said last night's atrocity

was an act of sickening cowardice, while Jeremy Corbyn said the country

should not allow the act of violence to cause divisions.

Theresa May will chair and a meeting of the Cabinet's emergency committee

tomorrow. Our political editor,

Laura Kuennsberg, reports now on reaction in the UK

and across the world And in Belfast, as in every place,

showing respect and regret, whether with thoughts,

prayers or speech. It is an absolutely barbaric attack

that has taken place, to cut off young lives in this way,

and it is absolutely devastating. And our thoughts and prayers must be

with their families and friends. An election campaign

in full pelt, now on pause. Tory central command, Labour HQ,

hardly a soul to be seen. In these circumstances,

a city and a community comes together in solidarity

and in strength. We don't allow these attacks

and these people to divide us or prevent us from leading

the decent, normal lives And in Scotland, the SNP

events called off, an end There can be nothing more cowardly

than attacking children and young Across Scotland today,

we stand in solidarity Memories stirred in Westminster

of March's attack. This was a terrorist attack,

deliberately targeted at children Revulsion shared by President Trump

on his Middle Eastern tour. I won't call them monsters

because they would like that term. They would think

that's a great name. I will call them from now

on losers, because that's To make a point about freedom,

the new French President strolled the short distance

to the British Embassy to say this. TRANSLATION: We will be

resolute on our continent. And from Berlin, where

the British Embassy flag flew And flags lowered in Brussels,

condolences expressed online May I ask you to join

in a minute's silence? And we stop in this moment too,

to remember in Peterborough... With love, we pray for all caught

up in these events... In Winchester tonight

and perhaps everywhere, As we know, the attack happened at

the end of a concert, almost exactly 24 hours ago. As thousands of

people, including many young people and children were leaving that

arena, others were arriving to take them home. Many of them witnessed

some really harrowing scenes as the events unfolded. Our correspondent

has been listening to the story of teenage cousins,

of teenage cousins, Ellie Clayton and Polly Asquith-Brown,

who'd saved up for months to see their favourite star perform

I've been waiting to see a tour for about four years.

So I've literally been waiting for so long.

And then she finally released her tour dates.

We were like, we'll save up, we're gonna get really good tickets,

cos we are gonna be at the front, and we did.

And it was just one of those things that I just had to go.

People behind me were crying, and everyone was just...

It's just a bit overwhelming when you meet someone

you've just idolised for four, five years.

The gig was nearly finished, or pretty much finished?

Yeah, she'd done an encore and she'd just left.

We got up out of our seats, literally walked to the end

of our aisle, and that's when we heard...it happened.

It sounded more like a gun shot, but like a really loud one.

It was too loud to be a gunshot and it kind of shock,

everywhere just shook, and everyone screamed,

No-one really knew what was happening.

And then we just heard people screaming and shouting, run!

It was just like a massive stampede of people.

And then that's when we kind of just saw everything.

A lot of the sounds and the things that I saw,

certain sights that you just, you can't unsee that.

And it's real life, it's not a picture you see on Facebook,

it's not something you see on the news, it is real life.

She was sat outside on the stairs of the arena and she had, like,

a big gash on her chin and blood was just coming down her clothes,

and was just screaming and her parents were crying.

As we were walking further and further up, there were just

blue lights everywhere, there were police everywhere and

That's when we just thought, we were just

Did you realise that people had died?

I kind of caught a glimpse of inside the station

You just don't ever want to see things like that.

There were just people lying there and the whole station,

wherever the foyer bit was, it was just in pieces.

It's so sad to think that people have gone

and then not come back to, like, a happy event, to a concert.

And what was going to be, like, the best night of our lives,

It had been building up for me for, like, years.

It was so exciting and it's just turned into, like,

the most traumatic thing personally that I've ever been through.

Do you feel lucky in a way to have come back OK?

It's horrible to think that, you know, what their families

And the people that we could hear crying and screaming for people,

Ellie Clayton and Polly Asquith-Brown speaking

This evening, thousands of people gathered in

the centre of Manchester in Albert Square to attend a vigil.

The newly-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham,

said the city had shown its true spirit

in the way it's responded to such a brutal event.

Our special correspondent, Fergal Keane, reports now on a city

trying to come to terms with a terrible shock.

Our cities cannot live in constant fear of terror,

however much part of life it has become.

So when the night is torn by violence, there is shock,

there is strength and there are questions.

Today, we asked the Mancunians we met to speak directly

Our way of life is being controlled by it now,

We're such a united city, and it's quite harrowing to think

It's devastating how young people fell victim to it

You wouldn't expect it anywhere, but Manchester is such a welcoming

You don't expect things like that to happen here,

Makes you scared at first, but you just realise

You thank the emergency services for all they've done.

Yet also a place of emphatic declaration.

Allah, we ask that you allow the perpetrators of this evil

action, Allah, bring them to justice.

If I had one of the victims' fathers or somebody who's

lost their daughter or son in yesterday's attack and I'm

saying to him "Look, George, Alan, whoever,

this is nothing to do with Muslims", and yet he knows that the person

who did it adhered to a so-called faith, it's hard to talk to a person

like that and say this is nothing to do with the faith.

I'm saying to people publicly and privately,

we have to distance our faith from these barbaric terrorists.

They're criminals with criminal mindsets.

People here already knew what it meant to face and recover

An IRA bomb devastated Manchester city centre in 1996.

Three years earlier in nearby Warrington, an IRA bomb killed

three-year-old Jonathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry.

Tim's father Colin became a peace campaigner, but today

he was thinking of the inexpressible burden of parents' grief.

Losing a child is the most awful event in anybody's life.

There's no easy way to say you will one day get

over it and recover, because you might, you might not.

The fact that terrorism is part of the collective memory

of this city does nothing to reduce the sense of raw shock

But Manchester's past experience does remind us of the resilience

of democracies in the face of terrorist campaigns,

and of the strength of the bonds of community.

After terror attacks, the word defiance is often used.

But it's the communal sense of grief that is most profound.

thoughts of our special correspondent on how Manchester is

trying to come to terms with the attack that happened here last

night. We'll be back in Manchester later in the programme. Now let's

join Reeta in studio. Sir Roger Moore, best known

for playing James Bond, He played the iconic role

in seven Bond films, including Live and Let Die

and A View to a Kill. David Sillito looks

back at his life. When Roger Moore took on James Bond,

he was a little nervous. Sean Connery had defined

the role, but Roger Moore did have his own secret

weapon - wit. When one is in Egypt, one should

delve deeply into its treasures. He'd come a long way from his early

days as a model for knitwear. His big break on television had come

in armour, in Ivanhoe. Born in South London,

the son of a policeman, Rada had helped him develop his image

as a suave English gent. And in The Saint, you could see

the template for what was to come. In this and in The Persuaders,

he was the action man You know, because I really

don't...see myself as a hero. When he finally said

goodbye to Bond, his acting But he relished a new

role with Unicef. They paid tribute today,

saying the world had lost one Forgive me, Father,

for I have sinned. As an actor, Sir Roger never

pretended to have great depth. He was funny, good company,

and he never took it too seriously. Sir Roger Moore, who has

died at the age of 89. A trial, in which Royal Bank

of Scotland is accused by investors of misleading them over shares

they bought in 2008, The shareholders claimed

they were duped into putting extra money into a failing bank,

but the judge has been told by lawyers, on both sides,

that they are close Donald Trump has delivered

a speech in Jerusalem, saying he's personally committed

to working to end the conflict Before he left Israel, the President

laid a wreath at Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the six million

Jews killed in the Nazi holocaust. He also visited the

Palestinian president, Let's return now to Huw in

Manchester. Thank you very much. To recap, after

last night's dreadful terror attack here in Manchester, 22 people were

killed, 59 people injured, many of them seriously. We heard earlier

from the Prime Minister in Downing Street, after a second meeting of

the Cabinet emergency committee today, COBRA, as it's known, that

the terror threat level that's been raised to critical and that is the

highest possible level, meaning that an attack is considered to be

imminent, a further attack considered to be imminent. Let's

have the latest on the intelligence that the Prime Minister's statement

was based on. Let's speak to Gordon again. Bring us up to date on what

you've learned in the past hour or so. Yes, a dramatic development as

the threat level is raised to critical for the first time in ten

years. That, sources are telling me, is because they cannot rule out the

possibility that there remain people at large linked to the attacker last

night who might pose a threat, who could carry out a further attack.

They're not saying that's for certain. But they cannot rule out

that possibility. As a result, the threat level has gone up to critical

and we are going to see the military deployed on the streets in support

of police. Gordon, thank you for bringing us up

to date. As we mentioned earlier, The attack here in Manchester

was the worst in the UK since the London bombings

of July 2005. As news of the bombing spread

across the city last night, many rushed to offer to help

those in need. Families offered accommodation

to those caught in the turmoil, and taxi drivers offered free rides

to anyone in need. Our correspondent, Sophie Long,

reports on how the community come Manchester was a city understandably

on edge this morning - panic as another building

in the city centre was evacuated. Smashed all the windows down

in the Arndale to get out. This time it was a false alarm

and while the threat is felt acutely, people here are coming

together and the human spirit, No amount of evilness will ever,

ever dampen any good thought Cab drivers who worked

through the night, foregoing their fares,

were back keeping the city Mostly the teenagers, like,

8 to 16 or 14 years old, all these girls they're crying

for their mothers and their parents Then we take to their home,

take to the hotel, take Jump in the cab and

I'll drop you there." When I asked people how they feel

about what happened here, so many people have said to me -

I have no words, and words have been difficult to find today as people

just begin to get their heads around the atrocity that took place right

in the heart of their city. What comes more easily

to people here are actions. I just really wanted to come down

and see if I could help at all. It's such a massive tragedy. There's been

an overwhelming response on social media. I thought I'd come down and

try to give blood, do my bit, yeah. Others took food to hospitals where

victims are being treated. People connected, in person, by phone. Even

the very young were among those responding. Find the policeman.

Helping to keep people going. Thank you. It's so close to home.

We're sat at home, might as well help in whichever way we can. On the

city's streets today, a real sense of community. After what happened

yesterday, there's a responsibility to do something. And just want to

show people that they're loved, so we're just going round hugging

people, because ultimately, love is the only thing we can do when we're

faced with hate. And tonight, concert goers were undeterred as

Simple Minds took to the stage just a mile away. Think of the victims of

last night. This is how will people are responding to the horror visited

on their city. They are coming together and they are carrying on.

As we've heard, last night, the crowds had come

to see the American star Ariana Grande in concert.

Many of the audience were teenagers, some even younger.

Emergency services say that of the 59 casualties taken

to hospital following the attack, 12 were under the age of 16.

Our correspondent, Seema Kotecha, has been hearing from one young fan.

Ariana Grande, once a child star, now a global pop icon.

The 23-year-old rose to fame after starring in a TV series

She then turned to music and topped the charts with her songs.

On social media, she is one of only six people in the world

who have more than 100 million followers on Instagram.

On Snapchat, she's one of the most viewed.

And her trademark bunny ears are popular with millions.

She's nice and she's kind, and she's really pretty.

Nine-year-old Summer describes herself as the pop

She went to the concert last night after getting

If I saw Ariana Grande, just sat right there, I would cry!

And I would hug her, and I'd do anything to meet Ariana Grande.

Tens of thousands of fans packed Manchester Arena

The singer responded to the attack on Twitter by saying...

Other celebrities with young fans have taken to social media to pay

tribute to those who died, and to express their shock.

I think that the greatest thing we can do is just unite,

When I think of Manchester, the place that I know,

I think of the spirit of the people there.

And I'm telling you, a more tight-knit group of people

We will go to bed holding our little ones even tighter this evening.

Summer and her father are spending time together.

They're talking about what happened - something child psychologists say

young people who might be affected by the attack should do.

The Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, is with me.

He took up a couple of weeks ago. You have expressed today your

unlimited pride in the people of the City. It has just grown and grown

throughout the day, I have been out visiting NHS hospitals in the last

couple of hours and the story from staff was people flooded in,

porters, cleaners, surgeons and nurses to help. Not on shift, and

the public were bringing in food and there is a report of a homeless man

and helping tends to be injured. This city has really gone at great

length to pull together in the last 24 hours. Last night was our darkest

night, no doubt about that, but the people of Greater Manchester have

pulled together and there is at least some hope in that tonight and

that should give people some pride. Individual which took place which we

will have some images of, there was also a stronger message. The vigil

was a message of great togetherness and a little defiance, and that is

important because moments like this do not just of bullies but it came

true that Manchester was fighting back -- but moments like this do hit

just self belief. To send a strong message out we will not be defeated.

Thank you, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester with his

thoughts. Earlier this evening,

several thousand people came together in Albert Square -

outside the Town Hall - to attend a vigil, where they heard

expressions of pride in the city's strength of character,

its diversity and resilience. I spoke to some of the

people who were there. This city is greater than the forces

that align itself against it. And as we say that, we're sending

a signal not just to Manchester, I live here, my children

have been born here. And with such an atrocious act that

happened last night, Why was it important

for you to be here? It's important to me because,

like Mum said, I was born in Manchester and I know people

who were at the concert. I find it very upsetting that

somebody would just walk into a place and kill themselves,

along with other people, You cannot defeat us

because love, in the end, The spirit of Manchester cannot be

broken by a nutter with a nail bomb. There's much more to

this city than that. I'm really proud

to be from this city. It's a wonderful place,

full of culture, a very multicultural city, and we can't be

defeated by something like this. We are diverse, we

welcome everybody in. You know, for somebody just

to think they can come in and do what they've done,

taking what's ours, this is our city And with it being a terrorist

attack, I feel like a lot of Muslims As Muslims, we do care,

no matter what these... We don't agree with anything

that's gone on at all. You've seen everybody around here,

how diverse it is, that's Manchester It's not easy really to deflect

anger on a day like this, is it? We're not blaming each other,

we want to help each other. Anger should be diverted

in the right way. To be honest, I've never been

to one of these before. You know, my heart's gone

out to all the victims Some of the voices at tonight's

vigil here in central Manchester, all of them united in declaring

that the spirit of this city is as resilient tonight

as it has ever been. There's more coverage on the BBC

News Channel but, for now, from the heart of Manchester,

after a harrowing 24 hours for the people

of this city, goodnight.