Hoax claims 'will not be tolerated' - bomb survivor

Manchester Arena attack survivors should not have to deal with "hurtful" hoax claims, one of the people injured in the blast has said.

Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve are awaiting a decision in a High Court harassment case they have brought against former television producer, Richard Hall.

The father and daughter, who suffered life-changing injuries in the attack, are suing Mr Hall for harassment and data protection over his claims in several videos and a book that the bombing was staged.

Speaking outside court in London, Mr Hibbert said the bombing survivors "should never have to face such hurtful claims and I hope this case sends out a clear message that it will not be tolerated".

Mr Hibbert was left with a spinal cord injury while Miss Hibbert faced severe brain damage after the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

But Mr Hall has claimed his actions, including an incident of filming Miss Hibbert outside her home, were in the public interest as a journalist and that "millions of people have bought a lie" about the attack.

He told the hearing at London's Royal Courts of Justice: "The primary evidence shows there was no bomb in that room that exploded."

After a three-and-a-half-day trial, Mrs Justice Steyn said that she would give her decision on the claim in writing at a later date, with her written ruling expected in October.

Speaking outside the court at the conclusion of the trial, Mr Hibbert said the beliefs and actions of Mr Hall needed challenging as they were inaccurate, offensive and damaging, and had caused harm to those who had already suffered so badly.

He said: "We certainly shouldn’t have needed to be here in court to make a stand and to protect others from this kind of behaviour."

He told reporters outside court that it had been very difficult but he had to take a stand "to protect the most beautiful thing in my life, my daughter Eve".

Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured hundreds when he detonated the homemade rucksack-bomb in the crowd of concert-goers, with the court told that the Hibberts were some of the nearest people to Abedi at the time of the blast.

But Mr Hall claimed that several of those who died are living abroad or were dead before the attack, telling the court he believed that no-one was "genuinely injured" in the bombing.

In his closing arguments, Jonathan Price, for the Hibberts, said the pair had "suffered the most appalling tragedy".

"Eve’s life was just beginning. She was just flourishing at the age of 14. It is hard to imagine a greater tragedy, even had she died," he added.

He called Mr Hall’s conduct "objectively harmful" and "offensive, and known by the defendant to be offensive".

Paul Oakley, for Mr Hall, said that Mr Hibbert said that his client, previously an engineer, "actually believes what he’s saying".

Mr Oakley said: "It’s clear from the evidence, I suggest, and from the cross-examination of Mr Hall, it has never been suggested that he is making things up."

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