23/05/2017 BBC News at Six

Tonight at six we're in Manchester - a city pulling together

after the worst terror attack in its history.

Inside the Manchester Arena last night as thousands of young fans

at a concert realise there's been an explosion.

The emergency services were called within minutes

60 ambulances took dozens of injured to hospitals.

Shouting, mad, chaotic rush the nearest exit.

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

Student Georgina Callander was the first victim to be named.

The man who police suspect carried out the attack and died in the blast

has been named as 22-year-old Salman Abedi.

The big question for investigators - was he working alone?

One man has been arrested in Manchester.

The flag at half mast over Downing Street.

Election campaigning has been suspended for the day.

All acts of terrorism are cowardly attacks on innocent people,

but this attack stands out for its appalling

sickening cowardice - deliberately targeting innocent,

At four o'clock this afternoon, the Queen led a minute's silence

We'll be hearing from the fans - youngsters who will remember last

When we booked the tickets it was so exciting, but it's turned

This is the scene right now at Albert Square -

a vigil to remember the dead and show solidarity.

With many people still searching for missing loved ones,

And in other news tonight, the actor Sir Roger Moore

He was best known for playing the spy James Bond.

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

Good evening from Manchester - a city that's shocked and defiant

in the aftermath of the worst terror attack in its history.

We have an extended edition of the news at six, bringing

you the latest updates, reaction and analysis.

Right now hundreds of Mancunians are gathering at Albert Square

for a vigil to remember the dead and show solidarity with all those

22 people, some of them children, are known to have been killed.

Nearly 60 are in hospitals across the city, some of them

Police say a lone, male suicide bomber, who's identity is known,

carried out the attack at the Manchester Arena last night.

It happened just as thousands of fans were leaving a performance

Police were called just after 10:30 last night,

towards the end of the performance by Ariana Grande.

The explosion happened as people started to leave the venue,

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

Those injured are being treated at eight hospitals in the area.

Speaking after a meeting of the cabinet's emergency committee,

Theresa May described the bombing as "callous,

All election campaigning has been suspended for the day.

Our first report tonight on the attack and its aftermath

is from our Chief Correspondent, Gavin Hewitt.

His report contained scenes that some may find distressing.

Ariana Grande's concert was coming to an end when from before Jaeger

sound of an explosion came. -- when from the Fourier and the sound of an

explosion came. -- the foyer. There were screams, then running. A crowd

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

find. 22 people were killed near the entrance. Nearly 60 were injured.

Suddenly a massive flash and bang. Smoke. My wife, I laid her down on

the floor. She's got bruising. She had won that slide it under her

chin, and bruised. She's probably broken a female in her left leg. --

brokering a femur. Something really hot flew over and

landed behind me and my sister. We dropped to the floor. I thought they

were behind me, so I rang out. Then I realised they weren't, so I tried

to run back in because I was worried. I shouted for my mum that I

couldn't hear anything. My ear is all blocks. It was really scary.

All I could hear was screaming, shouting. Everyone was running

everywhere. It was complete madness. 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. 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.

During the night, specialist teams were brought in. 400 police officers

were deployed, along with forensic teams. Early on, police appeared to

know the identity of the bomber. Then within the last hour, an

update. I can confirm that the man suspected

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

Abedi. However, he has not been formally named by the coroner, and I

wouldn't wish to therefore comment any further about him at this stage.

And on the street, survivors reliving a concept that ended in

failure and murder. This is Helen and Isabella.

We hit the corridor, when we saw masses of people running in absolute

terror and panic to get out of the place. Younger 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 really 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. So

they were in tow, one day? They were very scared because they were on

their own. 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 amongst the worst terrorist incidents we have

ever experienced in the United Kingdom.

During the day, police raided a number of houses. A 23-year-old man

was arrested in connection with yesterday's bomb attack.

An attack an event like what happened last night has long been

feared. Preventing a determined suicide bomber is incredibly

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

everything they can about this man - whether he is part of a wider

network and whether there is a risk of further attacks.

Dozens of people are still trying to trace loved ones after last night's

bombing. Among the missing, Olivia Campbell, aged 15. And 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. And

eight-year-old Saffie Roussos was amongst those killed. It was an

attack directed at young people, at innocence.

The first victim to be named was Georgina Callander,

an 18-year-old who was studying health and social care

At eight years old, Saffie Roussos was the youngest person

known to have been killed in the attack so far.

They were among the thousands who had travelled to

the Manchester Arena earlier in the evening, looking forward

Our Special Correspondent, Ed Thomas, has this report

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 said...

And the latest of the 22 who died to be named,

Friends said the 20 82 old was an amazing young man.

Manchester is also remembering the injured.

It was thought 12 of the casualties were children under 16.

Clearly there are a number of individuals who have very,

And people are going to be in hospital for a long time.

And consider the families still waiting to hear from loved ones.

People like Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry from South Shields.

Laura MacIntyre and Eilidh McLeod from the Isle of Barra.

And Courtney Boyle and Philip Tron from Gateshead.

Behind every face, a desperate search.

You haven't seen this girl by any chance, have you?

Just asking if you'd 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 the search - from hotels to hospitals.

We've been as close as we can to the arena, we've been

in the back streets, and we've been to this

We've got friends and family that went to other hospitals.

We've got friends in Blackburn who work there.

If anybody sees her, if anybody knows where she is,

all we need is a phone call and we will come and get her.

I'm going to see if they've got any news.

And waiting at home, cousins, grandparents and a mother who wanted

to record this message to help find her daughter.

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.

In just seconds, so much has changed.

Our Health Editor, Hugh Pym, is at the Manchester Royal Infirmary,

The emergency services were alerted just minutes after the attack. I

imagine they have been working flat out ever since? Yes, George. There

are 59 patients at eight different hospitals in the greater Manchester

area being treated, including nine here at Manchester Royal Infirmary,

a major trauma centre. We don't know how many of them are children and

how many of them are adults but we do know there are 12 patients at the

Royal Manchester children's hospital for the under 16s. There is at least

one other child at another hospital. We don't know how many have serious

or life-threatening injuries. Some, we are told, are rendered state and

our intensive care, and maybe in hospital for a little while to come.

-- are in intensive care. We have heard that nothing can prepare for

the shock and tragedy of this, but there is a quiet sense of relief

that the disaster plan drawn up stood the test. Leaders say they

plan to fairly intensively for an incident just like this. They put

the plan into action. Staff were called into the night by each

hospital. They all came in. More came in from off duty shifts, more

than were needed. Some were sent away. The message I'm getting from

staff is huge gratitude to the people of Manchester. They say

they've been inundated with offers of food and drink, people coming

through the day here, including an elderly woman in a wheelchair with

bottles of water to hand them over. Local firms bringing food as well.

They're saying that, if you like, sums up the spirit of Manchester

today. Thank you for that update. enter

As we know, the attack happened at the end of a concert -

just as thousands of people were leaving and others

Together they saw the horror of last night unfold.

Our correspondent, Judith Moritz, has been listening to the story

of teenage cousins Ellie Clayton and Polly Asquith-Brown,

who'd saved up for months to see their idol perform.

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

So I've literally been waiting for so long,

and then she finally released the tour dates and we were like

"We'll save up and get good tickets, because we are going to be

She just came out, and I cried when she came out.

It's just a bit overwhelming when you meet someone you've just

The gig was nearly finished, or pretty much finished?

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

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

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

But it was too loud to be a gunshot, and everywhere just shook

And all the stewards were just a bit like, "What's going on?"

No one really knew what was happening.

And then we just heard people screaming and shouting "Run",

and everyone was running, flooding back into the arena

from that one exit in the corner which was leading to the train

And then it was just like a massive stampede of people.

There were a lot of huddles of people.

There was someone on the floor and loads of people around them.

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

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

and she was just screaming and her parents were crying.

As we were walking further and further,

There were police and ambulances everywhere.

Did you realise that people had died?

I caught a glimpse inside the station and was

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

The whole station and the foyer bit was just in pieces.

It's so sad to think that people have gone and then not come back.

And what was going to be the best night of our lives that had been

Since we booked the tickets, it was so exciting, and it's turned

out into the most traumatic thing that I've personally

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

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

We could hear people crying and screaming.

Our correspondent, Danny Savage, is around the corner

from here in Albert Square, where a vigil is being

Danny, people have been talking about the Manchester spirit, the

spirit of Manchester. Are you getting a sense of that now at the

vigil? Well here at Albert Square thousands have crammed in here to

listen to the Archbishop of York, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of

Manchester has been talking. We will stand together, is the message,

whatever our background and religion, can you not defeat us

because love is always stronger than hate. The crowd are clapping and

cheering that message of devie Anscombing forward. This is the Town

Hall, there are thousands of people. The city centre seemed quieter

during the day. It filled up this evening as thousands of people have

come into here to listen to what the city leaders have to say. The

message is to be detypifiant. What has happened won't break this city.

People are here with that message, we love Manchester, and they will

continue to do so. George. Thank you. We can hear the applause here

in our live position tonight. By midday the police had arrested

a man in connection with the attack. He's thought to be from Chorlton,

in South Manchester. The priority for investigators

is to find out if the suicide bomber was working alone,

or was part of a group that might have been planning

more than one attack. Our home editor, Mark Easton,

has the latest on the investigation. This report does have 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 to indulge

their hateful ideology? There is no need

to bunch up and run. Take your time and

exit the building. We now know the suicide bomber's

name, Manchester-born But police think

others may have been involved in today launched raids

on people thought to have been his A 23-year-old man was arrested

in the Manchester district A short distance away

at another house in Fallowfield, a controlled

explosion took place. It was like when you watch films

and you hear a bomb go It was like what you

see in the movie. Then we got to the end

of the avenue and saw the police and it hit home that

it's your doorstep. This part of the city is known

to have been home to a Syria and Libya, some

alive and some dead. To construct a viable bomb that can

be safely transported, secreted through security and then

detonated on command is not something an amateur

can easily achieve. Police say the device was home-made,

with reports that it contained nuts, bolts,

ball bearings and nails. So-called Islamic State says that

one of their soldiers of the caliphate attacked

what a statement called "A debauched But the group frequently claims

attacks in their aftermath which later proved

to have no connection. This attack was planned,

premeditated, and they're almost certainly will be other people

involved in this attack. The most important thing

is to catch them, to identify them and to

bring them into custody. Until we've done that,

then this attack really isn't over. Greater Manchester Police

are working with the national counter-terrorism policing network,

with Interpol and the intelligence services to try to find

out who planned mass Our priority, along with the police

counter-terrorist network and our security partners, is to continue

to establish whether he was acting alone or working as part

of a wider network. Almost exactly a year ago,

police and emergency services in Manchester held a training exercise

for just this kind of terrorist For a number of years,

the threat level has been set at severe, meaning an attack

is highly likely. The Prime Minister said today that

that is now under review. Understandably, the city

is nervous, people on edge. But there is a determination not

to be cowed by terror. "Manchester united" is the fitting

response to a vicious attack In a moment we'll speak

to our security correspondent, Gordon Corera, at MI5

headquarters in London. But first Daniel Sandford

is at the Greater Manchester There was a statement from the

police, just before we came on air, what is the latest on the

investigation? Well, when the bomb went off last night, police

obviously had a suspect almost immediately. Very quickly, they had

a name. He had some form of ID on him, very quickly they had a name,

Salman Abedi. Really, the work since then has been to use that one bit of

information to open out their investigation. So from that name

they raided a number of addresses linked to him, using a controlled

explosion to go into one of those addresses. They've established that

he is a British man of Libyan origin whose parents escaped here from

colonel go daddy, came here as refugees. He has two brothers and a

sister, all of whom also lived in Manchester. He went to primary

school here, he's a supporter of Manchester United, but last night,

aged 22, he chose to go to a pop concert and blow himself up and also

kill 22 other people. Starting with that bit of information, they then

needed to work out where the bomb was made because of course that's

critical in terms of working out who made the bomb, did Salman Abedi make

the bomb himself or was he helped by others? An absolutely vital bit of

information. That's why an arrest was made today, a 23-year-old man

has been arrested, but not charged. There could be further arrests

further down-the-line as the police widen out this investigation. Once

they've established whether Salman Abedi was working alone or with

others, then of course they've got to get to that key question - why.

Why did a young man whose parents came here as refugees choose, age

22, to go and blow himself up as young people left a pop concert in

Manchester. Daniel, thank you very much for that.

Our security correspondent, Gordon Corera, is at MI5

What challenge does this pose for the security services? Since MI5

they have been pouring resources, analysts, surveillance investigators

and agent runners into this investigation to answer that

critical question - was Salman Abedi working alone or not? There was this

claim by so-called Islamic State that he was one of their soldiers.

But there were some inconsistencies in the details of that message

compared to what actually happened in Manchester. Frequently the group

claims someone was working with them when in fact there was no direct

contact. So much more of the effort here at MI5 will be in the

investigation here in the UK, to try and understand if there was a

broader network. Crucially, whether others were involved in making that

improvised explosive device, something which is not

straight-forward to make because if there are others out there who were

involved, then there could still be a threat. Now the UK's threat level

has not been raised to the highest level, critical, that would happen

if there was intelligence of an imminent attack. There isn't that

kind of intelligence at the moment, but the authorities are saying it's

under constant review and constant assessment as they undertake this

investigation to try and understand who was behind this attack. Gordon,

thank you. Thank you very much. Let us take you back to the pictures of

the vigil that's happening right now, round the corner from where I

am. I can hear the applause here where I am. Hopefully, you can hear

the applause in your homes. There's been a spirit of defiance, people

saying they will not be defeated by what happened last night. Throughout

the day, as we arrived in Manchester, people have been talking

about this spirit, this Manchester spirit that will make sure that they

come through this attack that happened last night. There we have

it. Thousands of people at this vigil.

At four o'clock this afternoon, the Queen led a minute's silence

Earlier, Theresa May arrived here in Manchester -

that was shortly after she'd chaired a meeting of the Cabinet's emergency

The Prime Minister described the attack as

Election campaigning has been suspended for the day.

Our political editor, Laura Kuennsberg, reports now

on the UK's reaction to the atrocity.

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.

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,

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

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 everywhere,

We can speak to Laura in Downing Street now.

One has got to remember this is all happening in the middle of an

election campaign. That's right, George. Of course today the

overwhelming priority for Number 10 has been to cope with this attack,

to work out what has happened, and of course what might happen next.

There have been meetings of the government emergency committee and

Theresa May is travelling back from Manchester right now. I understand

she will chair and the Cobra meeting at around eight o'clock tonight.

This is a particularly intense political time. This awful event has

taken place in the middle of a noisy general election campaign full of

climber. There was no question that the political parties today would

all agree to suspend campaigning. That is extremely rare, it has only

happened three times in modern history in terms of calling an

immediate halt to a national campaign. That will stay in place

tomorrow. The parties have agreed that there will be political silence

for at least the next 24 hours. Beyond that at some point in the

next few days, the main party leaders will be back out on the

road. But at least for now and for tomorrow, poetical domestic

disagreements are put on hold. The emergency telephone number for

people who may be concerned about the attack is available.

I'll be back in a few moments, but first let's go to our studio

in London where my colleague, Reeta Chakrabarti,

George, thank you and apologies for some of the technical problems that

we had at the beginning of the programme.

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 has been

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 to an out

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,

The worst terror attack in Manchester's history -

22 people have been killed after a bomb exploded

The man who police suspect carried out the attack and died in the blast

has been named as 22-year-old Salman Abedi.

And in other news tonight, the actor Sir Roger Moore has died at the age

of 89. He was best known for playing the spy James Bond. His family said

he had had a short but brave battle with cancer.

Below me, hundreds of people have gathered in Albert Square to hold

a vigil after last night's terror attack -

It's a sign of the solidarity that has been so much in evidence

since the awful news of the suicide bombing spread across the city.

Taxi drivers gave fans free rides, and families took

Our correspondent, Sophie Long, reports on how the community

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.

Obviously, with the tragedy that's happened, if we can help in that

So it'd be nice, you know, to do something to help.

I just really wanted to come down and see if I could help

at all because it's such a massive tragedy.

There's just been an overwhelming response on social media,

so I thought I'd come down and try and give blood.

People connected - in person, by phone.

Even the very young were among those responding.

I saw it on the news and I work in Manchester, I do security,

and it just scares you really that it's so close to home

and we're sat at home, so we might as well help,

On the city's streets today a real sense of

After what happened yesterday, there's a responsibility to do

something and I just want to show people that they're loved.

So we're just going around by hugging people because,

ultimately, love's the only thing that we can do when

That's how Manchester is responding to an inhumane, cowardly attack,

Joining me now is Nina Warhurst, who's the BBC's Political Editor

Thank you for joining us. As we've been hearing, it's a challenging day

for Manchester. And I guess a challenging day for greater

Manchester's numeracy are absolutely. Andy Burnham is barely

two weeks into this job as granite -- Andy Burnham was buried two weeks

into this new job as greater Manchester's new mayor. His team

tell me he is utterly delighted with the response of these teams. We saw

400 police officers turn up and we have had about 60 ambulances taking

patients to eight hospitals around the region, nurses turning up to

work on their days off and actually being turned away. So far he said he

is delighted with those teams that are now under his remit for the

first time. And iGas on a day like this: is everything, isn't it?

Absolutely. We have never had a map of greater Manchester and this was

his opportunity to step up in that role and show leadership, which he

did. He talked about it -- we have talked about Manchester's resilience

tonight, and about the pride. Throughout his mayoral campaign that

was something that he talked about, the massacre, the suffragettes.

There is that history and that strength. The challenge now, of

course, is where does he go from here. He needs to reflect on his

teens, police, fire and rescue, and think if there is anything that they

should have done or look up to do differently. -- reflect on his

Twenty20. It is still telling people that it is the city they know and

love, which is tolerant and will be peaceful against Otway thank you.

As we've heard, last night the Manchester Arena was hosting

Many of the audience were teenagers or even younger.

This afternoon 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

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 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 that 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,

And 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.

Just to mention, if you have children watching this programme

and they're distressed by the news, BBC Newsround has a lot of useful

Tonight, in Brussels, the flags of the 28 European Union

Leaders from across the world have been expressing

sympathy and solidarity with the people of Manchester.

President Trump, newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron

and Angela Merkel, of Germany, are among those who've sent

messages of condolence and reaffirmed their commitment

Our diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, reports on reaction

Paris and St Petersburg, Brussels and Berlin.

The threat of terrorism is one that few nations can avoid and many

leaders must face and today it was their turn to

share solidarity with the people of Britain.

President Trump, visiting Israel's Holocaust memorial, said the wicked

ideology behind all terrorism had to be completely obliterated.

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's a great name.

I will call them, from now on, losers.

Because that's what they are, they're losers.

The President called Theresa May to express his condolences and offer US

help in the investigation. President Macron also spoke to the feminist

before visiting the embassy, offering more communication fight

against terrorism. And Germany's Chancellor

offered her support and sympathy. The Pope issued a Telegraph offering

his prayers for the dead and wounded. In Brussels the European

Union institutions lowered their flags in a mark of respect.

Elsewhere other leaders expressed their condolences through messages

on social media. Or by flying the Union flag themselves, such as here

outside the Italian Prime Minister's offers. President Putin sent a

Telegraph gram to Mrs May offering to increase Russia's

counter-terrorism co-operation with Britain.

President Xi Jinping, who visited London last year,

telephoned the Queen to say China stood with Britain at this difficult

time. And in Australia's parliament in Canberra,

the Prime Minister there condemned what he called a vile attack

This is an attack on innocence. Surely, there is no

crime more reprehensible than the murder of children.

on freedom everywhere. on young people everywhere,

Before we go, let's just pull together what we know so far.

22 people have been killed in last night's suicide bombing

at the Manchester Arena - the youngest just eight years old.

12 children under 16 were among the dozens taken to hospital.

One man has been arrested in connection with the attack,

as police try to find out whether the killer was

In a moment we'll be hearing from our correspondent,

Danny Savage, at a vigil here in Manchester,

but first our special correspondent, Ed Thomas, is at the Manchester

This of course is the scene of the attack last night. What is it like

now? It's calm now. The teenagers, the young children who were at the

centre of this attack, they've all left now, but what won't leave this

place is the sense ever disbelief and the shock that's been left

behind. Within an hour of this attack last night, we watched young

people, teenagers, walking around here in confusion. They were on

their phones, trying to get hold of their parents. They just wanted to

get out of this city. We also saw mums and dads as well. They were

confused. They didn't know where their children where. They didn't

know if they were safe. But we also saw something else. Strangers coming

down to cordons like this one, to give out water bottles. Just to try

and offer help. At 3.00am last night we saw a man holding on tightly to

his 10 and 12-year-old daughters, he just said, "I don't know where I am,

I want to go." We watched a stranger walk up to him say, look, I'm not a

taxi driver. I've got a car. I will take you home, you will will be

safe. Tonight there are many people trying to hold on it to that sense

of good. It was an attack on defenceless vulnerable children. Ed,

thank you very much. We can go to Danny Savage at that vigil. Danny,

Ed there talking about, if you like, the kindness of strangers. You

saying earlier that what you're seeing is the community spirit

that's here in Manchester. Yeah. There is a feeling of defiance here

in Albert Square tonight as thousands of people packed in for

that vigil. There was a huge cheer when the emergency services were

mentioned. Great support for them here. The parting words from the

clergy leading the ceremony "go from here to wour places, schools and

communities and rebuild this city in England's green and pleasant lands."

The difficult thing will be the age of the victims as they

emother-in-lawing over the next few days. It's something the city will

struggle to come to terms with. They are defiant, but this is going to be

a long yourny. -- journey. Now we can catch up with the weather: Thank

you very much. It will get warmer over the next few days. It felt warm

today. In the sunshine, blue kies skoo in Rhyl, more cloud in the

south-east of England here at Walton-on-Thames in Surrey. The

cloud has gun to break up, we have more cloud for Northern Ireland and

across Scotland over night it will bring rain and drizzle. A few spots

of that into the north-west of England. Misty low cloud returning

back into Wales and the south-west. Clearer skies for eastern England, a

warm night, temperatures typically 13, 14 in towns and cities. Some

early sunshine for eastern England. Early rain and drizzle for

north-west Scotland. That will peter out in areas that start sunny will

see cloud developing. Areas that will be cloudy we will see sunshine

developing. Temperatures widely into into the low 20s. Later on into the

week, not only does it stay fine and dry, we will find the cloud breaking

up to allow us to see much more sunshine and that will lift the

temperatures higher and higher. Moving into Thursday and Thursday

should be a fine day. There will be some patches of cloud here and there

for the most part winds will be light, there will be more sunshine

around. That warmth is pushing northwards into Scotland and

Northern Ireland. We could be peaking easily into the mid 20s. The

dry weather coming due to that high pressure. The centre of the high

pressure crucial it drifts towards the east, allowing us to draw our

air from the near couldn't tent by the end of the week. Ahead of this

weather front here that will push in from the south-west it threatens

heavy and thundery showers. Ahead of that warmth temperatures could be

close to 30 degrees. That's it. George. Thank you very much. There

have been moving speeches this evening at the vigil held at Albert

Square, praise for the emergency services and people of Manchester

for their help and solidarity throughout the night and day. Last

night the people of Greater Manchester showed the world how much

we care. How much we care about each other and how much we were prepared

to help those in need. I've heard some tremendous stories of doctors

coming in to support, police officers, ambulance workers giving

up their days and turning up to help those in need. I want to thank

everybody from those emergency services who worked tirelessly

throughout the night, to the members of the public for their solidarity

and for the rest of the world for holding us in their thoughts.

APPLAUSE The as the bishop said the greatest

of it this region is the diversity of people and thought we must stand

together and not let the terrorist defeat us not let stop us going

about our daily business and create fear. We must live in harmony with

each other as we stand together it defeat terrorism. Thank you very

much. A few moments earlier the Manchester Poet Tony Walsh read out

his Odi to the city. We can hear a bit of that now. There's hard times

again in these streets of our city, but we won't take defeat and we

don't want your pity because this 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. We should give something back

always remember, never forget... Forever Manchester. Choose love,

Manchester, thank you. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE high pressure

The poet Tony Walsh. I will be back in half an hour. Now, it's time to

join the BBC's news teams where you are.