Manchester Concert Attack BBC News Special

situation. That is it from Breakfast this morning, stay with us on BBC

News for special coverage of the story in Manchester.

9am and it is being chaired by Theresa Mayment we can talk to

Labour's Lucy Powell who is a candidate for the up and coming

general election. Good morning. In Manchester a

suicide bombing at a pop concert last night killed 22 people and

wounded nearly 60 others. Children were among the dead. Suddenly there

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

my foot and my leg and I turned around to my wife who was stood at

the side of me and she said, "I need to lay down." I to lay her down on

floor. She has a stomach wound and possibly a broken leg.

One of those injured... INAUDIBLE

Said 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 the attack last night was conducted by one man.

Right now the Prime Minister is chairing a meeting of the

Government's emergency committee, COBRAment her Home Secretary, Amber

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

people mad, chaotic rush to the nearest exit. Suddenly something

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

sister and then we all like dropped to the floor.

This morning we are live in Manchester and we will be talking to

people who were at that concert. Those young people, those teenagers,

who were 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'll

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'd expect. We're not far from the

arena. When you arrive at Piccadilly Station, it is packed. People are

going about their business: They're going to work. They're going to get

their kids to school because that's what you have to do even though

there has been a terrorist attack in your city.

Good morning. We're bring you some awful news from Manchester this

morning. 22 people including children have been killed and around

60 injured in a terror attack at a pop concert here at the Manchester

Arena. There were thousands of children, teenagers and young adults

there. Some children with their mums and dads. Police say one man acting

alone, is thought to have carried out a suicide attack. Let me tell

you where I am in relation to the Manchester Arena. We're at the end

of Chapel Street. Far away, maybe 200 meters away underneath one of

the bridges is the Manchester Arena and you can see the steps up to it

like any big stadium, one of the biggest indoor, if not the biggest

indoor venue in this country and we're told it was pretty full last

night. The capacity is about 21,000, 21,000 kids, teenagers, young

people, mums and dads, watching Ariana Grande, one of the biggest US

artists there is. Police say one man is thought to have carried out a

suicide attack and people here are absolutely shocked by what happened.

We have spoken to some people who were at the concert, they're leaving

the Premier Inn behind me. They have got their bags packed and they are

too traumatised to speak to me. This is the moment the explosion took

place. Oh my god. What's going on? What

just happened? What's going on? Oh my god.

It sent debris flying. Eyewitnesses reported being blown 30 feet.

Paramedics said they treated some of the wounded for shrapnel-like

injuries. This footage which you can see now shows the aftermath of the

explosion. Andy was nearby where the explosion took place.

I didn't go to the concert. My wife and daughter did. I was waiting at

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

and it through me through the first set of doors about 30 foot to the

next set of doors. When I got up and walked around, there was 30 people

scattered everywhere. Some of them looked dead. They might have been

unconscious, but there was a lot of fatalities. My first thing was to

run in the stadium and try and find my wife and daughter. When I

couldn't find them I went back out and with the police and the fire and

ambulance whoever was there, I looked at some of the bodies trying

to find my family, but luckily they weren't there. I managed to find

them outside the arena and got them back to the hotel, but I phoned up

because so many reports come in that it was like a balloon and things not

happening as it was. It was definitely anks blowings and there

was definitely a lot of fatalities. Outside the arena many parents were

waiting to collect their childrenment Emma was there to pick

up her 15-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son. The kids were in

the concert on their own and me and my husband, we dropped them off at

tea-time. The bags had been checked by the security and there was

security on all night so you couldn't get in to the arena. It was

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

the blast exploded. It was near to where they were selling the

merchandise and it was definitely a bomb. Definitely. The whole building

shook. And there was bodies everywhere. Body parts. It was the

worst ever. It was definitely not in the arena, definitely, but because

of the panic and because of the sound, we obviously then run to try

and find the children. Unfortunately for us we were all first to tell the

story. Really, really distressing. Some parents are still desperately

trying to find their children. Charlotte Campbell hasn't heard from

her daughter Olivia Campbell-Hardy since last night. I had contact with

her at 8.30pm. And she was on her way to the concert, was she? She was

at the concert. She was in the support act and said she was having

an amazing time and thanking me for letting her go. Was she with her

people? She was with her friend, Adam. And have you managed to hear

from him? Adam was found about half an hour ago, he's in hospital, but

Olivia has not been found yet. You've got friends and family

searching, what are you doing to try and find her? I'm at home phoning

everybody, hospitals, police, all the centres that the children have

been put in. Her dad is actually in Manchester looking for her. I've got

friends out looking for her. I've got people I don't even know looking

for her. People messaging me saying we've got her photo, we're out

looking for her. We'll get in contact with you if we see her. I'm

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

getting from people you don't know is because you made an appeal on

social media, yes? Yes, social media has been wonderful. I don't know

what I would have done without it because it just made it so aware

that she's missing and there is thousands of people that know that

she is now missing and have seen her picture and there are people out

looking for her that I don't know and I can't thank these people

enough for giving their time up. And what have the police, the

authorities, said to you about what you should do? They've basically

just told me to stay put and wait for a phone call. And there is

nothing more you can do, is there? I dare not leave the house just in

case she somehow gets home. People are posting photographs on

social media of those still missing, but some are understood to be fake.

I'm going to talk to Karen Ford who was at the gig with her daughter

Isabel for a 14th birthday treat and we're going to speak to Isabel's

dad, they are on separate lines. Karen, good morning to you. Good

morning. Hello. Tell us what you can about what you experienced last

night. It was awful. It was just, it is just unbelievable and to hear

that poor woman's story now. I was lucky, I brought my baby home last

night and she will be celebrating her birthday on Sunday, but some

children won't be. The concert had just finished and Ariana Grande had

left the stage and the lights came up and everyone started to get their

bags together and we started to walk towards the staircase when all of a

sudden there was a huge, loud bang in the corner, the opposite corner

of the stadium. It sounded like an explosion, but there was no smoke.

There was no flash. There was no smell. There was nothing else to

see. It was an explosion. The noise was deafening and everyone just

stopped in their tracks and looked towards the corner and then someone

shouted, "It's a bomb." And then it was just utter chaos and panicment

people were falling over barriers, they were jumping over barriers. We

were trying to get up the stairs and there were people behind us. They

were just crushing everybody in front of them. You had not that many

staircases where they could actually leave because everybody wanted to

avoid the country in the corner so you had got 15, 20,000 people trying

to exit. It was just awful. I was trying to tell my daughter to keep

calm and obviously we needed to get out safe, but at that tile, we did

not know that it was a bomb. So we left the building, we came out of

the doors, all the staff had gone. I presume they may have gone around to

the explosion, I don't know, but there was no one to direct us

anywhere. There were shoes on the floor that people had obviously lost

as they were running away. And we just followed the masses and we just

followed everybody out into the street, on the streets there were

children crying, everybody was on their phonesment they were trying to

find their parents. There were parents outside. The concert was

full of young girls. So 12, 13, 14, whose parents had probably dropped

them off and gone to have a good time with their friends and then

obviously the parents were outside. It was just awful. I had my daughter

with me and I had her safe and we did get out, but then we had to find

my husband. My husband and son had dropped us off and they were coming

to pick us up. So he had heard the explosion about half an and mile

away and came running down towards the arena. He tried to phone, but he

couldn't get through on his phone at first to me. But it was just awful

outside. It really was. Those poor families. And how is your daughter

Isabel? She is in shock this morning. She is quite upset. She had

a few tears. I think obviously reality has sunk in this morning

that she has gone to a concert. She is just in complete awe of Ariana

Grande. She loves her. We've had these tickets for months and it was

just they came around her birthday which was a brilliant time and the

concert was fond TAssic and then for that to happen and people her age,

have probably died, I think she's realising how serious it is bless

her. So she has not gone to school today. Neither of my children. They

just weren't in a fit state to go. I'm going to talk to your husband,

Stewart, if I may Karen, Stewart can you hear me OK, good morning to you?

Yes, Victoria, I can hear you. Thank you very much for talking to us. I

mean, it's 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 could describe it. It was, after the bang,

I turned to my son, we were sat about half a mile up the hill away

from the arena. We found a nice little get away so we could get away

from the traffic, but it was off the main road and 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 did I think it

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

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

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

Everybody was getting out of their cars all of a sudden. I grabbed hold

of my son and I went, "Come on, we're going." I ran to the main road

and started asking a few of the adults what had happened because by

this time the kids were getting up the road and they were running from

the arena and they just said, "Oh, it was a loud bang." But no one

actually knew. So I tried phoning Karen and for some reason it just

wouldn't connect and then it was just ringing out or the engaged tone

and we were running down the hill and it was frantic. It really was

and panic had set in by that time. And how did you manage to find Karen

and Isabel in the end? Eventually Karen picked her phone up. She

answered and luckily the exit that she had come out of was the exit

where I dropped her off earlier that afternoon.

We got our bearings and it was a case of finding a focal point where

we could see and eventually meet up. But that seems to have taken for

ever, to actually find her. How do you reflect this morning on British

kids being at a pop concert in Manchester at the gig of a huge US

star being targeted in this way? Absolutely awful. You cannot

comprehend it. To think, the little kids who were there, the panic, it

is just awful. I am really grateful for your time, both of you,

considering what you have gone through, thank you very much

Stewart, Karen. We wish you and Isabel all the best. Karen and

Stewart Ford. Karen was at the concert with her daughter Isabel. It

was her 14th birthday treat. They heard the bomb go off. Ariana Grande

had just left the stage. The lights came up and they started to walk out

and then they heard this enormous bang. As Karen said, someone said,

that sounds like a bomb. Clearly, their 14-year-old pretty traumatised

today. We will bring in more people, somebody at the concert, who lives

close by and also our correspondence Matthew Price. Emily, hello.

Matthew, I am Victoria. Describe what happened? We were just getting

ready to leave, she just finished and we had this bang. Everyone just

stopped, there was silence and panic. Everyone 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 got out. People

tripping up over the stairs, dragging people upstairs, panic,

trying to get out. As we got up to the foyer, there was smoke

everywhere, drips of blood on the floor leading out of the main

entrance. We ran straight back to the hotel, just to be safe. We did

know what had happened. Initially I think people thought it was balloons

popping. At the end of the concert a load of pink balloons had been set

off? Yes, but it was too loud to be balloons. The security just said one

of the sandboxes had blue that was the noise, they didn't know what was

on. -- sound boxes. A lot of people knew it wasn't that and it happened

to be what it was and it was horrifying. How are you? I'm fine,

bit shaky, I was crying a lot last night, but I am getting better as

the day goes on. Thank you very much, and Moly. Darryl, you live

close by and you heard the explosion? Yes, I arrived home from

work at about 10:15pm and got into my flat. I heard an explosion so

intense it shook me to my core. Noise, experience and sensation I

have felt before. I work for a radio station in Manchester and my

journalistic instinct kicked in and I made my way to. A couple of

hundred yards away from my flat, the Manchester Arena approach was filled

with people. A lot of them looking unsure as to what was going on. Then

an element of panic and chaos set in. This was on the Victoria station

side because there are several exits? Yes, the side closest to the

train station. I managed to speak to a man who was willing to talk to me

on the record. The first words out of his mouth was suicide bomber. My

heart sank at that point. Then it was trying to piece together and

make sense of it. People were uncertain and it was pure chaos. It

was a difficult time and there was an incredible amount of community

spirit and incredible acts of bravery from the emergency services.

We talk about that thing a lot in these circumstances, but I saw a

convoy of about 20 ambulances driving to the point of danger last

night and it was incredibly heart-warming. We did know what was

going on, but there was rumours of a sound box having blown, and I knew

that wasn't the case. From there, the picture started to become

clearer. Thank you very much, Darrell. We will talk to our

correspondent Matthew Price, but first Steph McGovern is at the

Manchester Royal in the. We know about 60 people were injured, what

can you tell us from there? This is one of eight hospitals where

casualties have been treated here. A lot of ambulances arriving

overnight. Has been quieter this morning, mainly police coming and

going. But in the early hours of this morning, it was really busy

here with ambulances bringing the casualties. Also relatives. You are

talking about people looking for their loved ones and we have seen

the same here as well. In the early hours of this morning, there was a

17-year-old girl who had been to the concert with her mum and her mum's

boyfriend. She came to the hospital looking for them and found her mum's

boyfriend but hadn't found her mum so she was continuing to travel

around the hospital 's looking. You can see the confusion but also the

support. There have been staff who aren't on duty, offering to come in

and do extra shifts. They have been told by the director of the A

units, only to come in if they are as. There is also a lot of security.

People being asked for ID before they get into the hospital and only

those who need serious treatment are allowed into A Also the issue is

getting the blood here for those who need it. Just across the road is the

blood donation centre. They say they are opening up early and I have seen

a few people heading that way to go and donate blood. 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 give blood over the next few days. It is important to help the

people here. We have seen the staff arriving. Lots of staff who have

left here, looking exhausted. The next shift coming in this morning,

not knowing what to expect. This is a major incident for them, they

announced that this morning. We don't know how many casualties in

this particular hospital. We have been told we will be given more

information, but given it is an ongoing investigation, there is a

lot we are not being told. But it is clear the emergency services are

working hard here this morning and we will give you updates as we get

more information Victoria. Thank you very much, Steph McGovern

at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. 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 faced in Greater

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

young people were out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena and

have very sadly lost their lives. Our thoughts are with those 22

victims we now know have died. The 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 we have

significance resources deployed to the investigation and the visible

patrols people would see across Greater Manchester as they wake up

to the news from the events of last night. This will include armed

officers 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 urgency COBRA committee. She said her thoughts are

with those affected by an appalling terrorist attack. Jeremy Corbyn has

treated, I am horrified by the horrendous events in Manchester. My

thoughts are with family and friends of those who have died and have been

injured. The emergency telephone number for

people concerned about friends or relatives who may have been caught

up in the attack is... That is anyone concerned.

There was a massive flash and then smoke. I felt a bit of pain in my

foot and my leg and I turned to my wife at the side of me and she said,

I need to lay down. I had to lay her down on the floor, she has got a

stomach wound and possibly a broken leg. The doors where you come out of

the arena itself into the foyer where they had the merchandise, it

was someone who had just come through the doors there and then

bang. There was glass and then metal notes that have been packed into the

device that has exploded. -- nuts. The explosion happened just after

Ariana Grande left the stage. She tweeted this... Broken from the

bottom of my heart. I am so, so sorry.

I don't have words. When she walked off the stage she left a venue full

of joyous, young people. Moments later it was transformed into a

scene of multiple births. Let's talk to our consumer this --

correspondent, Matthew Price. We are less than 12 hours after this has

happened and that is what it is so shocking. Round the corner there are

the steps, down which thousands yesterday fled. Many thousands of

children of cause among them. We are seeing some of those filing past

this morning. They are eventually going home and perhaps they have

gathered a few hours sleep. 12 stick in your mind. The young couple who

had come down from Cumbria, the young man and his girlfriend who

spoke of the blood they saw and the injured they saw. Then there was the

mother and her 19-year-old daughter. She had stepped in at the last

minute. Her daughter's friend was meant to come and the mother came

along. They described managing to get out and they hid under a bridge

for 40 minutes, because they were so afraid. And the other people 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 to bed. They

missed the explosion, but it will live with them for ever. 21 years

ago, Manchester was targeted... Just up the road. Just up the road,

corroboration. I was one of those evacuated. -- Corp oration street.

Devastation in terms of infrastructure, but no one was

killed that day. This is just appalling. I have been to Paris

after the Bataclan attacks. Berlin after the Christmas market attacks.

We have seen what happens, city rebuild themselves, Manchester knows

that because of what happened in the Arndale, cities rebuild themselves,

but it is difficult for families. Is there a hierarchy of death, the

easier it gets as someone gets older? I don't know, but it is

horrific and tragic that children, we know children are among the 22

who died. The police have said, we don't know their ages, but we know

it. The police and intelligence services have been telling us that

something like this would happen. It has happened in Manchester. It was a

deliberate targeting, it seems, of young people at a pop concert.

Predominantly young teenage girls, ten-year-olds, as I mentioned, and

others. But targeting of those people by a man who put an

improvised explosive device on himself, walked in there at the end

of a concert, when he knew people would be leaving, and set the

device. How do you cope if you are a mother or a father of one of the

children lost in this? Thank you very much, Matthew Price. It is ten

a.m.. Good morning a suicide bombing at a

pop concert in Manchester has killed 22 people and wounded nearly 60

others. Children are amongst the dead. The whole building shook. And

then there was bodies everywhere. Body parts. It was just the worst

ever. Police said the lone male attacker

died when he detonated a 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 and we believe at

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

mad, chaotic rush to the nearest exit. I turned around to my wife who

was stood at the side of me and she says, "I need to lay down." To had

to lay her down on floor. She has got a stomach wound and possibly a

broken leg. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, is

chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency committee

Cobra. The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd described the attack as

barbaric. This was a barbaric attack

deliberately 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, the victims, who have been affected.

Good morning. Live from Manchester this morning

where it is pretty calm, it is pretty quite et on this side of

townment behind me, about 200 meters away is the Manchester Arena, a

complete contrast to last night where from what eyewitnesses with

said there was cottal chaos and total con -- total chaos and

confusion after an Ariana Grande concert. What we know according to

the police this morning 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 this as a

suspected terrorist attack. They've asked for further information.

They've asked for people who may have been filming on their phones at

the time to upload footage to a particular website. The ka pass yut

at the arena about 21,000 people and there are people leaving the

Travelodge and the Premier Inn, leaving with their suitcases, they

had come here to watch one of their favourite pop stars, they are

leaving pretty traumatised. Many don't want to peak to the media,

which is fair enough really, isn't it? Around Manchester there are

armed police officers and extra unarmed officers, the leader of the

City Council said this morning that is to reassure people, but also from

Piccadilly Station to here, that walk of what a cull of miles, there

are thousands of people -- couple of miles, there are thousands of people

going about their daily business and taking their children to school

because that's what happens when a city is targeted by terrorism in the

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

shocked and they're devastated. They're also in pragmatic mode as

well. As you know the Prime Minister has been chairing a meeting of the

emergency committee, Cobra. And we're going to talk to Eleanor

Garnier now who is on Whitehall. Is the meeting still going on?

Victoria, we think the meeting has just finished. I'm standing outside

the Cabinet Office and we have seen the Defence Secretary, Michael

Fallon, he left in the last few minutes as well as other ministers

too. So we think the meeting probably started at 9am. It went on

for around 15 minutes and it is the most senior meeting you can have in

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

other ministers too, but also very senior police officers and also

security leaders. Obviously 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 learnt about the attacker and perhaps maybe what they

have found out about whether he was working alone or whether he was

working with others. We haven't yet had an update on the exact findings

of that meeting. We haven't had a read-out from that meeting, but we

know all campaigning in the general election has been suspended and I

understand the Prime Minister called the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy

Corbyn, overnight. They had a phone call and they decided that all

national campaigning should be suspended. The Green Party, the

Liberal Democrats, the SNP, who are meant to launch their manifesto

today, all those parties, Ukip as well, they have all said that

political campaigning in the general election will be suspended and of

course, we don't yet know when it will resume because this is an

extremely serious terror attack and of course, it's going to be taking

up the Prime Minister's time and as a mark of respect all politician

have decided that any campaigning should be suspended. Thank you.

Eleanor Garnier live from Whitehall. It's 10.06am. Greg Dawson has the

latest. Thousands of people scrambled for

the exits. I was like, "We need to run." So we started running. We ran

down to the hotel and all I could hear was screaming and people

crying. Everyone was just running everywhere. It was complete madness.

Police now believe the attack was carried out by one man, who

detonated an improvised explosive device that he was carrying. It's

believed he died in the blast. This has been the most horrific incident

we have faced in Greater Manchester and one that we all hoped we would

never see. Families and many young people were out toen joy a concert

at the Manchester Arena and have very sadly lost their lives. The

Manchester Arena has a cas passity of 18,000 for concerts. Last night,

it was filled with young people. The police say a number of children are

among the dead. I was near the box office on the foyer where it

happened waiting for my family to come out and I was talking to one of

the girls who was going on about she's going away with the kids and

that. I was just talking about Florida and that. Only for her

talking to me and having the door open, I think I would have been

injured, but because she had the door open we got thrown forwards

through the door towards the arena, but the explosion was behind us, it

forced us forward, but everyone who was ten foot, 15 foot behind us,

everyone 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. Hours later,

Ariana Grande tweeted the 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 she left behind a venue filled

with joy. Just moments later, it became the scene of multiple deaths.

Greg Dawson reporting. You can see on the billboard what's just been

put up there. "Pray for Manchester. Hashtag we stand together." I've got

various people to talk to. Some of whom were at the gig and some of

whom helped. Caitlin, good morning to you, Joseph, Daniel, and Sam,

thank you very much for talking to us. You were both at the concert.

Tell us what happened as far as you're concerned? We were just right

in front of the stage, one row behind it. And as soon as the stage

just finished we just heard this massive bang. It was that loud that

it fill the whole room with that noise. As soon as everyone turned

around and wondered what it was, everyone where the bomb was, they

were all screaming and running back. Did you know 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 and it was not a balloon or a speaker

because that's not what they make at all. The next worry that I thought

that people with guns were going to come in, but luckily that did not

happen, but god knows what was going to happen after that. I just knew it

was a bomb from that noise. There was nothing else for it. Joseph,

what about yourself? Personally, my experience of the show itself was

incredible. She was flawless as always, but afterwards when the bomb

went off, it was just a panic in the entire room. People would panic and

when you have got a lot of pre-teen boys and girls and when they are all

panicking and trying to get out, there is going to be mass hysteria

and people are going to try and push past each other and people will get

hurt. We got stuck in a line of people who stopped because they

didn't know the situation so we had to climb over chairs and over fences

and gates that had been locked to get out of doors of the arena itself

which we did in the end get to do, but at the same time it was still

terrifying and personally a horrendous end to a perfect night.

Sam, Daniel, come closer. Tell us where you were and what you did? We

were just coming back from the cinema at the time. We came out and

there were sirens going. We didn't really know what was going on and it

was, it wasn't until we were coming because I just live around the

corner, it wasn't until we got close to home and we were seeing people

who were crying and it was really distressing. We saw there was

rumours that there was a bomb. So, it was really sad. They were just

beginning to cordon everything off, but there is a massive difference to

last night to this morning when it was business as usual here. It is

like people just passing straight through. Were you able to help? Were

you able to comfort people? Well, we, like we said, we didn't know

what was going on because at first we thought maybe somebody had been

knocked over by a car, but then the amount of police that were coming

and ambulances, something else has happened. We knew something a lot

bigger had happened, yeah. How do you respond to the fact that a man

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

You never thought you there there at that moment that would happen

something that you had spent so many months planning to do and than all

of a sudden, as soon as that moment has come, someone decides to

obviously plan it for many months as well and it's terrifying to realise

that anything like that can happen no matter what and for us to be in

that situation and also with many, many younger kids who are younger

than us like six. How old are you? I'm 16. How old are you? I'm 16. How

do you reflect this morning, Joseph? I'm just trying to get over it. I'm

obviously with the situation that has occurred, it's going to take a

long, long time for people to get past this. We've council.to 22

fatalities and 59 injured. It is horrendous the amount of damage not

only to infrastructure, but the damage to personal families. There

is a lot of peel who never got to go home from that concert and

personally I think that's horrendous. OK, thank you very much,

thank you Caitlin and Joseph, Daniel and Sam, thank you very much.

We can go live to Downing Street where Vicki Young is. Clearly

election, general election campaigning has been suspended. We

don't know how long for, what is the latest from there? That's right. We

know there has been an emergency meeting this morning of senior

Government figures chaired by Theresa May. That meeting has broken

up. They will have been dealing with the practicalities of what's going

on in Manchester. We expect the Prime Minister to come out into the

street. We think that she will make a statement and I suppose the task

for her is not to talk about the practicalities, it is to sum-up the

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

everyone is feeling and as they look at what happened in Manchester and

so that, I think, the role of the Prime Minister is not just about the

practical side of this. She will visit Manchester in some form, but

the political cam maybing, that election that we have been in middle

of, all the tooing and froing. Political debate that has stopped

with all parties deciding not to campaign. The Prime Minister then

does have some other things on that she has to do which are

international meetings so actually that could mean that the heat of the

election campaign if you like has probably dissipated for a few days.

If we just move our camera, we can see in Downing Street and in a lot

of the buildings around here in Westminster, the flags are at

half-mast as you would expect, because of what has happened with

this worst terrorist attack on British soil for very, very many

years since 7/7. Something, of course, that Theresa May would have

expected she may have had to deal with at some point. She has been

Home Secretary before that for very many years so something that she is

well aware of and of course, I suppose that experience will be

coming to the fore front as she chairs this meeting today, but as I

say, we expect words from her at some point in the next few hours and

then probably that trip to Manchester later.

Thank you very much. When the Prime Minister speaks outside Downing

Street, we will bring it to you. Let's speak to the head of National

counterterrorism security. Mr Phillips, in terms of the

counterterrorism investigation, where will you begin? An attack like

this, it was so well articulated, by those youngsters who spoke before

me. It has involved a lot of planning. It is a bit of 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. But this attack does involve someone being able to get

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

and make the effort of putting bolts and things in that in order to kill

people and has used it at one of the most effective times. This is a much

more professional style attack. And this is bad news, this attack is not

potentially yet over. I would be very surprised if there was only one

suicide belt. I would be surprised if only one set of explosives was

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

police will be working really hard to try to identify this person,

identify those who are involved in the group and bring those to justice

before they can do any more harm. Which is one of the reasons why the

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable said please don't

speculate about this man's name on social media because they don't want

to tip off any accomplices. You wouldn't need to go to Syria to get

expertise to make that kind of explosive device, would you?

Unfortunately with the Internet, the ability to tweet and send messages,

people in the UK have access to, how do I make a bomb? The security

services are on two people very quickly like that. Of course, it

does take some skill. You have to have some knowledge in order to make

explosives, for example. This, appears, to have been done quite

professionally, with some thought as to how they will attack. It is

important to understand how we need to come together as communities if

we are going to stop this. The minute somebody gets a bomb strapped

to them or get into a car to attack people, it is too late, we are just

going to have casualties. People need to come to the police and tell

of their suspicions, in order to stop this from happening. I want to

bring our audience this news, Andy Burnham has just tweeted, join us

for a vigil in Albert Square at 6pm tonight. We are grieving today, but

we are strong. Echoing his words, when he made his statement this

morning. Please join us for a vigil at Albert Square. That is in the

centre of Manchester at 6pm tonight. We are grieving, says the mayor of

Manchester, but we are strong. What is the likelihood this man will turn

out to be someone known to the security services? Almost certainly.

We know there are an enormous amount of people known to the security

services, but there is not the police resources, security service

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

be on the radar, but not under the microscope. As a community, the

police are doing a great job to protect us, but they cannot be

successful 100% of the time. Subsequent to the attack in London

in Westminster, the police have arrested people pretty much every

day for terrorist planning. They are doing a great job, but we do have to

accept, at the moment, I am afraid, with the resources they have got, we

cannot have 100% security. Thank you very much, Chris Phillips. Mr

Phillips is the former head of the national counterterrorism security.

Just let me remind you, 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 male attacker, so Greater Manchester Police, who say

he exploded some kind of device in the foyer of the Manchester Arena,

just as the concert was ending, just as crowds of children, teenagers,

young people, mums and dads were streaming out. We know so far, sadly

22 people have died and that there are children amongst those dead. 59

people are being treated in eight hospitals around Greater Manchester.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester tweeted this in the last

few minutes, please join us for a vigil in Albert Square at 6pm

tonight. We are grieving today, but we are strong. We will talk to a man

who was at the gig with his girlfriend and daughter. Good

morning to you. Good morning. Tell us what you saw and heard? Like you

said, Ariana Grande had just gone off stage and everybody had just

started to leave the arena and where you go up the stairs and out into

reception where the toilets are and the Little shops you get your food

and drink, we were walking past that and stewards were pointing us to the

right. We were following that a man a sudden there was a huge bang. I

don't really think anybody, where we wear, I don't think it was around

that area, I think it was around the other side because we didn't see

anything or feel anything, like others have said. In our section, we

just heard it, it was a loud bang. I immediately thought, what was that.

At first I thought it was maybe a bomb, but then I thought maybe they

are dismantling the stage and something had fallen over and banged

on the stage. Within seconds, people behind me started screaming and

running, running past. That is when I started to panic. I grab my

daughter and I said, run. We started running with everybody else. We got

to the stairs and everybody was pushing and running down the stairs,

trying to get down as quick as we could. I think the word two or three

flights of stairs. I looked back to find my girlfriend. I couldn't see

her. We ran outside onto the road and there were lots of people crying

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

round for my girlfriend and I couldn't find her. I got my phone

out to give her a call and she was ringing me. I told where we were and

she came down. We still didn't know at that point what had happened. We

just saw the police cars passing. We got in the car and I put the radio

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

explosion. We still didn't really know what it was at that point. We

didn't know about casualties or anything like that until later on,

when we realised how serious it was. You must be very, very shaken this

morning? Yes, we haven't slept very well. It was a task getting back to

Leeds, the M62 was closed and it was about 1:30am when we arrived home.

We put the news on. We feel so lucky that we managed to get out of there

and we were lucky enough to have escaped it. But it is so sad. It was

full to the brim of children, young children. My daughter is nine years

old, it was a Christmas present and is a massive fan of Ariana Grande

and has been excited about this since December. It is so sad that

somebody can do something like this. When we went in, they didn't even

surge us. They asked my girlfriend to open her handbag up and one of

the stewards flashed a torch in there for about half a second. They

didn't search me, they didn't search our jackets or anything like that.

It was just straight through. Right. Thank you very much. We appreciate

your time this morning. Let me tell you about the emergency telephone

number, this is for people who are trying to find friends or relatives.

You may have seen some appeals on social media for those looking for

loved ones. Some of those we are told are fake accounts. For those

who are concerned about friends or relatives who may have been caught

up in the attack last night, this is the number to call... 0161 856 9900.

We are going to talk to Katrina Renton at Greater Manchester Police

headquarters as a huge investigation is underway? It has been an horrific

night for officers here at Greater Manchester Police. This morning, it

is a fast-moving investigation they are dealing with. Across Greater

Manchester today, officers have been brought in, not just into the

investigation but visibility so the public has reassurance the police

are out there in the face of this terrible tragedy. It is confirmed 22

people died, 59 injured. They are still in eight hospitals across the

Greater Manchester area. Chief Constable Ian Hopkins spoke this

afternoon and he was quick to say he was treating this as a terrorist

incident. They believe it was conducted by one man and the

priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or is part of a

network. The attacker, he confirmed died at the arena and he believed he

was carried this improvised explosive device, as we talked about

this morning. The very important message to the public is not to

speculate on his details or share names. This is a complex and

wide-ranging investigation that is underway. The Chief Constable has

impressed on the public, please do not share that information, their

priority, he says, is to work with the National counterterrorism police

in network and the UK intelligence services to establish more details

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

in Greater Manchester this morning and I have seen armed police

patrolling the area here. The police are also imploring the public to

help, if they see any suspicious behaviour be asking it be reported

to the anti-terrorist hotline. Oh 807 89321. Also, if people have any

images or footage from last night there would be helpful, can you send

that to UK police image appealed .co .uk. UK police image appeal .co .uk.

We are expecting updates from the police here later in the day. Thank

you very much. The latest from Greater Manchester Police. We are

expecting the Prime Minister to give a statement outside Downing Street.

We don't know when, but as soon as she speaks, we will bring it to you

live. We know she is planning to visit Manchester at some point,

we're not sure when but we will let you know as soon as we know. I will

introduce you to Lucy Powell and Graham Stringer, two Labour

candidates, as we are in a general election campaign, although it has

been suspended. Your response, Lucy Powell? It is horrific and a heart

goes out to the families and friends affected and we all know people who

were there last night, schools across Manchester, I think schools

across a much wider region will be talking to family and friends today.

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

unspeakable, awful act. It was designed to cause hatred, designed

to cause division and we have to respond to that, not with hatred and

division but with love and unity and bad is the spirit of Manchester we

are seeing today. It echoed the words of your collie, Andy Burnham,

the mayor of Manchester. He said, this will not divide this city,

which is one of the intentions this week. Manchester has dealt with a

terrorist attack in the past and it appears to be pulling together again

in a similar way? Yes, we have history of this, we did deal with a

huge bomb that thankfully did not cause any fatalities, but it caused

huge damage to the city. Out of that horrific incident came a rebirth of

our city. I am as full of anger as the next person over what has

happened, given how many children and teenagers and vulnerable people

involved last night, but we have to turn the anger into a positive

action of unity and solidarity. There is the vigil tonight in Albert

Square, I am sure many Mancunians will want to come to that. But many

of the victims will come from further afield from Manchester. This

arena attracts people from Scotland, Birmingham, Newcastle and everywhere

else. Every community across the country 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, but we are going to stand strong. It

will not kill the spirit of this city, the spirit of this city is too

strong for that and 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.

We need time to come together across political party lines as we are

already doing. We need time to hold hands and have a collective hug and

at some point I don't want to put a time frame on it, but at some point

in the next few days our democratic activities will continue because

these kind of terrorist acts are also designed to put at risk our

values of democracy, of free speech, of people being able to have a vote

and have a say and so we've got to show them that that's not going to

be halted and not going to be changed by these sort of activities

either. Thank you very much. Thank you. Lucy Powell. Good morning. It

is 10.32am. I'm Victoria Derbyshire. 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 when the

device was detonated to cause maximum devastation. Let me just

tell you where we are broadcast to you this morning. We're on Challe

Street which is a couple hundred meters away from the Manchester

Arena. This is a relatively quiet part of the city centre because it

has been cordoned off as you would imagine. There is a huge

counter-terrorism investigation going on. When you go a little bit

further up Blackfriars straet, around Deansgate, Piccadilly

Station, that's business as usual it has to be said. Thousands of people

going about their normal business, shopping, going to work, meeting

friends and so on and so forth. A number of people, friends, we have

seen leaving the Travelodge, the Premier Inn, who went to the gig,

who stayed overnight and we have seen them leaving this morning,

heads down, didn't want to talk to the media. Who can blame them? It is

fair enough. Too upset to talk to anybody. Just wanting 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 told

the BBC that they had treated some of the wounded for shrapnel-like

injuries and 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 just a panic in the entire

room. People would panic and it's when you got a lot of pre-teen boys

and girls who, there is a lot of Ariana Grande's demographic, there

is going to be mass hysteria and people are going to try and push

past each other and people are going to get hurt. We got stuck in a line

of people who didn't know the situation. We had to climb over

chairs and gates and fences this had been locked to try and get out of

the arena, which we did get to do, but it was still terrifying and

personally, a horrendous end to a perfect night. Relatives have been

using social media to search for missing loved ones. Charlotte

Campbell hasn't heard from her daughter elivia Campbell Hardy since

last night and she made this appeal for information. This is my daughter

Olivia. I haven't seen her since 5pm last night, she was at the Ariana

Grande concert with her friend. I'm worried sick. If anybody has seen

her, please contact the police, contact somebody, let her know

you've seen her, even if you think you've seen her, just let the police

know, please. She is in dark clothes off the shoulder top, her hair is

up, her hair is dark. She has got glasses on. She has got high-high

boots on. Please just somebody get hold of her. I'm worried sick. We've

not slept, we've got family out looking for her. Somebody must have

seen her. Just let me know you've seen her. Let the police know you've

seen her. Let anybody know you've seen her. Let me give you the

emergency phone number. This is the number for people to ring if they're

concerned about friends or relatives who may have been caught up in last

night's terrorist attack. The number is 0161 0161 856 9400.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been chairing a meeting of the

Government's emergency Cobra committee. She is expected to speak

shortly and she is then going to come here to Manchester to be

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

Greater Manchester Police and he told the assembled media this

morning that it was a lone male attacker that detonated an explosive

device in the foyer, in the area where they are selling T-shirts and

merchandise after the concert. We will talk to Graham Stringer. He is

a Labour candidate in this general election campaign which has been

suspended for obvious reasons. Mr Stringer you are a former leader of

the Manchester City Council and this city has experienced terrorism

before, has it not? It has and the city has come through. I mean

Manchester is a tolerant city and 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've been searching for

adjectives to describe this event and Lucy and Richard Leese, the

leader of the council and Andy Burnham have probably used all the

adjectives, I think I was, and there aren't, there aren't the right

words. I think our response should be redouble our efforts to be

tolerant between different communities, not to be critical of

people just because they're different and to be completely

intolerant of people who start to use violent language whether it is

directly in person or whether it's on social media. I think those are

the sensible responses for what is a horrific event. I've taken children

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

sporting event when they see their heroes and whether it is for a

concert, the excitement you see in ten, 11, 12, 13-year-olds, you can't

repeat and to have carried out this bombing at such an event is really

beyond adjectives and words. The police, the police have asked people

not to speculate on the identity of the attacker on social media as they

launch this investigation. Clearly, from what you were just saying a

moment ago, Graham Stringer, you are potentially concerned about some

sort of backlash? Well, I'm concerned the same as Greater

Manchester Police and the other Security Services are that people

jump to conclusions. Whatever those conclusions are when we know the

evidence, this is, it appears to be one person and what, over the coming

days, weeks, months, we all in Manchester have to live together so

the correct response is to redouble our efforts to understand each

other, not to criticise each other and to be tolerant of people who

have chosen to live different lives. I think that is the right response

and if I can answer the question you asked Lucy about how long this pause

in the campaign should go on? I think it's right out of respect that

campaigning is stopped today. I don't have a figure for that, but I

don't think it should go fond too long because although we should

grieve and we should show our sorrow, we shouldn't give over to

any bomber or any violent people the right to disrupt our democratic

process so I think we should get back to campaigning and discussing

the future of our country as soon as is reasonably and respectively

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 fare.

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

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

Mancunians and it says a lot about humanity. Sadly, we often only see

the best of people and there are a vast of majority of people in this

city, whatever their ethnic, cultural, religious backgrounds are

who are good people and who just want to get on with their lives, but

often we only see the very best of people in awful circumstances. So

I'm not surprised that people went towards t site of devastation to

help people and not surprised that people opened their doors to let

people in and hotels let people stay there who had made arrangements.

It's probably absolute to talk about good events after an event like

this, but it gives people the opportunity to see that people are

decent and beyond decent, brave and good.

Thank you very much for talking to us. Graham Stringer, former leader

of the Manchester City Council and a Labour candidate in this forthcoming

general election. Let me bring you two pieces of news. Examine boards

are telling schools that they can rearrange GCSE and A-level exams

after what happened here last night. We've got a joint statement from the

exam boards. They say it will be up to schools to decide whether exams

should go ahead. The exam boards say though that no students will be

disadvantaged. Schools and colleges affected by the bombing should

contact the relevant exam boards and students affected should speak to

their teachers. You'll know that hundreds of thousands of young

people are taking exams this week. So exam boards are telling schools

that they can rearrange GCSE and A-level exams, A-level exams after

what happened here in Manchester last night. And there were appeals

on social media earlier this morning for people to give blood and various

donation centres were open at Give Blood NHS has tweeted, "We have all

the blood required for hospital patients at the present time." So

there you go. I'm going to introduce you now to someone who has come to

pay her respects? Yes, I was at my friend's house and I was about to

leave and get a taxi and I heard a massive bang and I could see people

running in one direction and the other and I had flowers and I just

thought, it's just really upsetting because they were to young and you

could see them so excited to go to this concert and for something like

this to happen, it really does, it does affect you, because it's our

city. How do you reflect this morning then on what this city has

experienced last night? I think everyone is really shocked. I mean,

so many of us, we went to have dinner with each other and so many

people were about to walk to the station, left only a few minutes

beforehand and anything could have happened and it's just the shock of

it being targeted towards teenagers and children. I think that's really

what hit home about it, but the city is really resilient and people will

come together and really show love and we also have to remember that we

have to feel love for everyone. I'm hearing about some of my Muslim

friends getting attacked in the street now. We don't know who the

attacker is. We should unite and show respect and love for everybody

at this time. You're already hearing that, are you? Yes, from my friends.

That it happened to them or they are hearing it from others? A friend of

mine said their friend, someone spat at them on the street. This morning?

This morning and so we have, we have to remember that that is not what we

need to do. We need to come together. That's exactly what people

that do these things want to happen. Just to let our audience know we are

expecting the Prime Minister to speak in a few minutes, so I may

interrupt our conversation. That is absolutely fine. You have been to

gigs, I have been, when you leave you are on such a high, you are

joyous. The barbarism and the cynicism to target people as they

are leaving? What is more shocking, people leaving, having enjoyed

themselves and watch them going into the concert, people dressed up to

the nines, running in and so excited and to have the night end in such a

way, especially the Manchester Arena, we have all been there. A

sour taste on a live, vibrant culture of live music in the city. I

am worried other people will not want to go out in big crowds. We

have the Manchester 10K and Sunday. I want that to go ahead, but we need

more security. We have to get up and keep on going because if we don't,

the people who do this, they want us to hate each other and we have two

reunite, we have to do the opposite. You will have noticed the increased

police presence around the city centre, extra unarmed officers and

armed officers, do you find it reassuring? A friend of mine said

she was in Piccadilly Station and the armed officers took her back.

Barrack of us, and it makes you feel apprehensive. -- balaclavas.

Everyone, teenagers running on their phones crying, I think we need the

security presence to make everybody feel more comfortable. Thank you

very much for talking to us, we appreciate your time. Let's go back

to Downing Street and Vicky Young is there. 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 a

statement, said those words about what has been happening. We know 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 emergency

an meeting, a so-called Cobra meeting, that included other senior

ministers, the Defence Secretary, the Transport Secretary and on a

video call was the Labour mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham. They will

be talking of course about the practicalities, about what they

know, about the person who carried out the attack and also how they

have reunited people with their parents, about the injuries, all of

those things will have been discussed. There will have been very

senior officers from the police and also from the intelligence services,

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

the threat level should be. Whether there is the chance of anything on a

wider network being at large. All of that will be discussed. The reason

may, I am sure, we'll update us. She will also be here to try and put

into words what people feel about what has happened, people'sanger,

there are emotion and this was an attack that seemed to be targeted at

children will be something she touches upon. We feel when she has

made this statement, she will travel to Manchester, where she will meet

the emergency services to thank them for the work they have done, not

just overnight, but what they will be doing for the coming days and

weeks. That is what we expect her to do in the next few hours. Just been

talking to one candidate in this general election, Graham Stringer,

Labour candidate for a seat in the Greater Manchester area. He said, of

course the general election campaigning should be suspended, but

he was keen it wasn't put on hold for too long, because of the message

it would send out in the face of terrorism? It is a difficult one,

because people will be too shocked to engage again with that kind of

debate we have had, the cut and thrust of the general election

campaign that has been going on now for a few weeks. It is very

difficult to even think about getting back to normal. It is

slightly similar to what happened a year ago with the dreadful murder of

Jo Cox. I was speaking to Lucy Powell and I was with her when that

took place. People were so upset and devastated by what was happening,

they couldn't think about getting back into the political debate. This

is on a bigger scale than that. But on the other side of it, we will

know politicians will say, you have to try and carry on, try and get

back to normal, urging people in Manchester to go to work, try and

live life as normally as possible despite what has happened. The sign

of that is you get back to the political debate as quickly as

possible. Having said that, the Prime Minister has some

international engagements over the next few days. I think it will be

difficult to get back to the intensity we have had this week on

the election campaign. That won't be the same, I think, for at least

several days. It is difficult for politicians to judge it. There are

candidates around the country who have suspended their campaigning. On

the other hand, we have seen already, some people making some

political points. Ukip's home affairs spokeswoman talking about

Theresa May's record in the Home Office saying, has she done enough

to tackle these things? And people jumping to conclusions about who

might have been responsible for this attack. Que, we will hear from the

Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham. I cannot go into details on that.

Those investigations are ongoing. What I can say is, there is a need

for the city and the city region to come together. We are making

arrangements for a vigil in the centre of Manchester deceiving in

Albert Square in front of the town hall. I think it is important we

send out a clear message that we are grieving, we are strong and we are

together. Unity demonstrated overnight in all sorts of ways

across this city? Incredible people just throw their doors open or make

their car available to people. It tells you everything about the

people of Greater Manchester, then natural generosity. In many ways, it

is the best response, 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. Andy Burnham, where the police and security services

surprised by this style of attack here in Manchester, targeting young

children? It is for them to comment on the precise nature of the attack.

We all feel a sense of abhorrence about the nature of this attack. I

am not alone in saying my kids have been at that venue, at that

particular time of night, everybody here has a similar experience with a

chaos of the event ending and the kids coming out happy and excited.

For individuals to go there and seek to terrorise the children and those

young people and their families in that way, is the most appalling,

evil act I can imagine. Everyone is appalled by this awful tragedy and

attack, but do you think communities in Greater Manchester have a

responsibility, if there are people they know who may be responsible,

surely there needs to be a change in mindset now, do you think? If people

have any information they should make that known to the

counter-terrorism hotline. There is a way for them to do that. But what

I would also say, people should avoid some of the ill informed

comment on social media. Take the lead from what the police are saying

before people jump to any 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 doesn't represent any of our communities, does not

represent the people of Greater Manchester in any way, shape or form

and it is important that message is heard. Any closer to identifying the

attacker? That is not for me to comment on. What is a message to the

people of Manchester to help them cope through the horrific situation

of last night for the young girls and their friends? I am so proud of

them because they are already coping and they responded in the best

possible way with generosity. With kindness. That was, I think,

humbling. It sends a message to the whole world of what kind of people

we are here. That for me is just something that I think should make

every person, in this darkest hour, every person in Greater Manchester

will be proud that people responded in that particular way. I would like

to thank them for doing that. It is a case of returning to business as

far as possible, we will not let these people win. Final question.

You have a serious leadership role in Manchester, how will you get

people to the next difficult few days, weeks and months? It is an

important role, but I will fulfil it. I will ensure the people of

Greater Manchester have confidence in what we are doing, as leaders of

the city region, myself and Sir Richard Leese, working with the

police, the NHS and other emergency services. We all have long

experience in politics. We will work closely to ensure Greater Manchester

pulls together and gets things right and gives the evidence back to the

public. I would say, we want to bring the 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 send

together is we are united and we will not let them in. I'm the very

much everybody. 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, and

rightly would not comment on operational details. There will be a

vigil this evening this evening in front of the town hall in Albert

Square here in the centre of Manchester. Manchester City Council

saying books of condolence are now open at the town hall and on their

website following last night's events. US President Donald Trump

has been speaking about what happened in Manchester last night

and he condemned the attack. As president of the United States,

on behalf of the people of the United States, I would like to begin

by offering my prayers to the people of Manchester. I extend my deepest

condolences to those so terribly injured in this terrorist attack and

to the many killed and their 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 won't call

them monsters because they would like that term. They would think

that is a great name. I will call them, from now on, losers because

that is what they are, they are losers. And we will have more of

them, but they are losers, just remember that.

US president, Donald Trump and his press spokesman, Sean Spicer has

treated the president of the United States has spoken with the UK Prime

Minister, Theresa May, to offer condolences and support on behalf of

the US. It is worth remembering some of the words from the man of Greater

Manchester Andy Burnham, when he spoke this morning, visibly shocked,

clearly. He said, it is hard to believe what's happened because they

were children, young people. And this was an evil act and he really

did thank the people of Greater Manchester for immediately opening

their doors to help the thousands pouring out of the Emmy En arena

after that gig last night, for helping them, for comforting them,

helping them get away from the scene, taxi drivers driving people

away from danger, as Andy Burnham 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, of course, has

experienced terrorism before. The last time it was targeted was by the

IRA in 1996, 21 years ago. Not dissimilar to today, although it was

a Saturday morning, the city was evacuated because telephone warnings

were phoned in to GMP, and extraordinarily bad day, no one was

killed at the centre of Manchester was devastated. Sadly, 17 years

later 22 people have been killed and at the moment we know 59 injured. I

can give you the emergency number, which is the number to call if you

are searching for friends or relatives who may have been caught

up in the attack. It is 0161 856 9400.

Good morning from Manchester. A major piece investigation is

underway 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 was

full of young fans of the 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, of course, as you would expect because of the major

crime scene and 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 MEN Arena,

having heard what witnesses have described to me this morning as an

enormous explosion, a loud bang. Many knew immediately it was a bomb.

And, of course, it is in the foyer, the sort of public area as you go

from the MEN Arena to Victoria Station, so if people were trying to

leave, they were tripping over each other, they told me. Trying to help

each other, trying to find loved ones. The explosion sent metal and a

brief flying. Eyewitnesses reported being blown a 30 feet. Paramedics at

the scene said they treated some of the wounded for shrapnel like

injuries and many in the audience were teenagers. This footage shows

the immediate aftermath of the explosion.

16-year-olds Caitlyn and Joseph were at the front of the arena

They explained to me how they managed to get out.

We were literally just right in front of the stage, one row behind

it, and as soon as the stage finished, we heard a massive bang.

It was that loud that it literally filled a whole entire rumour that

noise. Simmers everyone turned around and wondered what it was,

everyone where the bomb was, they were all screaming and running back.

Did you know immediately it was a bomb? Yes, because everybody was

saying it was a balloon but balloons don't make that noise. It is not a

balloon or a speaker, because that's not what they make at all, and the

next wary eye had was people with guns were going to come in but

luckily, that did not happen. I just knew it was a bomber from that

noise. There was nothing else for it. Josef, what about you? I have

just chaired a meeting of the government emergency committee

meeting, Cobra, will be discussed the details and the response to the

appalling events of Manchester last night. A la thoughts and prayers are

with the victims and the families and friends of all those affected.

It is now beyond doubt that the people of Manchester and 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. The police and security services are working at speed to

establish the complete picture. But I want to tell you what ICAM at this

stage. At 10:33pm last night, the police were called to reports of an

explosion at Manchester Arena in Manchester City centre near Victoria

train station. We now know that a single terrorist detonated his

improvised explosive device near one of the exits of the venue

deliberately choosing the time and place to cause maximum carnage and

to kill and injure indiscriminately. The explosion coincided with the

conclusion of a pop concert which was attended by many young families

and groups of children. All acts of terrorism are cowardly attacks on

innocent people but this attack stands out for its appalling,

sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent defenceless

children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most

memorable nights of their lives. As things stand, I can tell you that,

in addition to the attacker, 22 people have died and 59 people have

been injured. Those who were injured are being treated in eight different

hospitals across Greater Manchester. Many are being treated for

life-threatening conditions. And we know that among those killed and

injured where many children and young people. We struggled to

comprehend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed with

young children not as seen to cherish, but as an for carnage. But

we can continue to resolve to thwart such attacks in future. To take on

and defeat of the ideology that often feels this violence. And if

the turnout to be responsible for this attack, to seek them out and

bring them to justice. The police and security services believe that

the attack was carried out by one man. But 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 but, 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. The

acted in accordance with the plans they have in place and the exercise

as they conduct to test those plans. And they performed with the utmost

professionalism. 400 police officers were involved in the operation

through the night. And many paramedics, doctors and nurses have

worked valiantly amid traumatic and terrible scenes. 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. It includes the deployment of armed officers. For

people who live and work in Manchester, there remains a large

chord in place around Manchester Arena and Victoria station. It will

be in place for some time. The station is closed and will remain

closed while the detailed forensics search is underway. We know that

many friends and relatives of people caught up in the attack are still

trying to find out what has happened to their children, brothers and

sisters, parents and loved ones. So please think of those people who are

experiencing unimaginable worry and if you have any information at all,

relating to the attack, please contact Greater Manchester Police.

The threat level remains of severe. That means a terrorist attack

remains highly likely that the independent joint terrorism analysis

Centre which sets the threat level on the basis of the 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 Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and members of the emergency

services who have come to Manchester's aid in its moment of

need. And, as financed last night, the general election campaign has

been suspended. I will chair another meeting of Cobra later today. At

terrible moments like these, it is customary for leaders, politicians

and others to condemn the perpetrators and declare that the

terrorists will not win. But the fact that we have been here before

and the fact that we need to say this again does not make it any less

true. For, as so often while the experienced the worst of humanity in

Manchester last night, we also saw the best. The cowardice of the

attacker met the bravery of the emergency services and the people of

Manchester. The attempt to divide us met countless acts of kindness which

brought people closer together. And, in the days ahead, those must be the

things we remember. The images we hold in our minds should not be

those of senseless slaughter, but of the ordinary men and women who put

concerns about their own safety to one side and rushed to help. Of the

men and women of the emergency services who worked tirelessly to

bring comfort to help and to save lives. Of the messages of solidarity

and hope of all those who open their homes to the victims, for they are

the images that embody the spirit of Manchester and the spirit of

Britain, a spirit that through years of conflict and terrorism has never

been broken and will never be broken. There will be difficult days

ahead. We offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of

those affected. We offer our full support to the authorities, the

emergency and 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. Prime Minister Theresa May. Lets

talk to Vicky Young, our political correspondence 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's

really trying to sum up the hurt that people feel. I think she said

it was difficult to understand this cowardly attack and they think the

fact it was directed at that place, at that time, directed clearly at

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, who died alongside the 22 others in Manchester Arena,

but she said they are not at this point naming that person. Of course

talking about community standing together, people standing together

with Manchester, talking about the spirit of Britain, but also making

the point that we have been here before, the fact it has to be said

again, the fact she has to come here, yet another Prime Minister

having to deal with this kind of atrocity is very difficult for

people to bear. She also made the point that many people are treated

in hospital who still, at this point, have life-threatening

injuries. She said they would now be trying to work out whether attacker

worked alone and whether the police work will continue in the coming

days and she would having to Manchester shortly to meet with the

police in Manchester, the Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham who we had

from earlier, and there is do you just get on with your normal

everyday life, saying to people that they have to do that? But also

urging people to remember not the scenes of carnage, but remember the

act of kindness that we've been hearing about so much overnight.

Thank you. The Prime Minister confirming she will be travelling to

Manchester later on today where she will first of be briefed by the

chief to Greater Manchester. We can speak now to the director of the

International Security study. At the foreign affairs think tank, the

Royal United services Institute. From the information that 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, so I think clearly we are

looking at a fairly callous act. I think, in terms of determining the

origin of this attack, in terms of the ideology that motivated the

attacker, we just don't really know. It a bit too early to be able to

say. Clearly, as we heard from the Prime Minister, authorities have

identified the individual, but they don't want to share that information

yet, but why that is could be because they are trying to

understand whether as part of a wider network or trying to pin down

who this 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 which will immediately dominate the news. You

will see people who are described as a fan boys are these extremist

organisations shout about how wonderful this is and praise the act

and seem to show their support for it, but I don't know we can draw

anything from that in terms of saying a particular group has been

involved in the incident. Often these individuals have no connection

and no idea what they're talking about, they're just catching the

crest of a wave and shouting from the rooftops if you will, from

Twitter. I don't know if we can draw any conclusions from that. I mean,

if we look at the statements we've had from the so-called Islamic

State, this morning they have a daily news digests they put out.

They haven't had any mention of what took place in Manchester, but it's

very difficult to draw any conclusion about what that means,

does it mean that had nothing to do with it? Does it mean as part of a

larger effort and they are waiting to sort of see it something else

will happen? Or will they just not claim it? There's been instances of

operations which had been clearly linked to them but they have not

ever claimed, so I don't know we can necessarily draw any direct

correlation from what we often see in terms of the 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 or a vehicle? I mean, I think there's a number of points to draw

from that. The first is to remember that, while we had seen a trend in

terrorist planning and narratives and ideology of messages, there was

a push towards people using low-tech attacks, knives and cars, whatever

was in your world around you, it didn't mean the groups of people do

want people to try to build bombs. They are far bigger devices, have a

far bigger shock effect, and so in many ways groups are still do want

to do that. The difficulty with bombs is they are not a bad easy to

make. To be able to know that you've made a device which would go off

when you wanted to go off is something which usually requires

some training or practice or both so I think what we can drop the fact we

have a device that went off, obviously when the individual wanted

to go off in the middle of this crowd of people as they believe in

this concert, would suggest a certain level of sophistication. But

what we can draw from that is very difficult to know at this stage,

whether it was training or and autodidact but certainly in the past

when we've seen loan bomb makers, they tend to be individuals who do

campaign, a series of incidents, rather than a one-off. Thank you

very much. We have a statement which releases the name of one of the

teenagers that was killed last night. This is from Ramshaw College

in Manchester. I will the statement to you. It is with enormous sadness

that it appears that one of the people who lost their lives in

Monday's Manchester attack was one of our students here at Renshaw

College, Georgina Callender, a former pupil studying with us on the

second year of her health and social care course. Deepest sympathies

thoughts and prayers go out to all of Georgina 's family, friends and

all of those affected by this loss. We are offering all available

support at this tragic time, including counselling with our

dedicated student support team. So a statement from Ramshaw College in

Manchester. Expressing enormous sadness that, as they put it, it

appears one of the people who lost their lives last night was a pupil

at the college. The college says her name was Georgina Callender, a

former pupil studying on the second year of her health and social care

course. Earlier we heard from the chief comes to Greater Manchester

Police, Ian Hopkins and he gave the assembled media the latest on the

attack and investigation. This has been the most horrific

incident we have ever faced in Greater Manchester,

and one that we all hoped Families and many young people

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

lost their lives. Our thoughts are with those 22

victims that we now know have died and the 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

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 To remind you, we were called at

about 10:33pm to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena. This

was at the conclusion of the Ariana Grande concert. We then received

more than 240 calls and emergency services responded very quickly to

the scene. Emergency members have been established for anyone who is

concerned for their loved ones who may not have returned home. These

numbers are 0161 856 9400. We have been treating this as a terrorist

incident and we believe at this stage the attack last night was

conducted by one man. The priority is to establish whether he was

acting alone or as part of the network. The attacker I can confirm

that I'd at the Arena. We believe the attacker was carrying an

improvised explosive 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 counterterrorist police network and

UK intelligence services to establish more details about the

individual who carried out this attack. We have received tremendous

support from across the police service in England and Wales and