Manchester Arena attack: Survivors to appeal inquiry decision

A group of Manchester Arena terror attack survivors will appeal against a ruling to not give them legal counsel at a public inquiry into the bombing.

In April, chairman Sir John Saunders denied the group "core participant" status at the hearing, a decision that was upheld in the High Court on Friday.

The survivors want the same rights as the police, government and families of those who died in the 2017 attack.

A preliminary hearing was told they had sought permission to appeal.

Counsel to the inquiry Paul Greaney QC told the hearing that the group's legal representatives had "sought permission, or at any rate purported to seek permission to appeal" following Friday's ruling.

He added that while it "remains to be seen" what impact that appeal process would have on the inquiry, his team were "determined to do all we can" to ensure the inquiry opened as planned on 7 September.

He also said many survivors would be given the chance to give evidence at the inquiry.

Lawyers representing more than 50 people injured in the explosion had sought a judicial review of the decision not to give them core participant (CP) status.

Had they succeeded they would have been allowed to obtain disclosure of evidence in advance, challenge it and participate in lines of inquiry but the High Court ruled the application was out of time.

The hearing was also told a further application for core participant status had been made by an employee of Showsec, the firm responsible for security and crowd management at the Arena.

The individual was involved in "interaction" with the bomber Salman Abedi, Mr Greaney said, and faces the "most close scrutiny" at the inquiry, as he would be the subject of "express and significant" criticism.

Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds injured when Abedi, 22, detonated a suicide bomb as fans left the arena following an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

His younger brother, Hashem Abedi, was convicted of 22 counts of murder in March at the Old Bailey and is expected to be sentenced in August.

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