Manchester Arena Inquiry: Victim's husband thanks city for its love

The husband of one of the Manchester Arena bomb victims said the city showed "in the most incredible way that love can be the more powerful force".

Tony Kiss's wife Michelle was one of 22 people killed in the attack at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

"The people of Manchester restored my faith in humanity during the hardest time in my life," he told a public inquiry into the deaths.

He was also comforted their daughter was with her as her "guardian angel".

Families are presenting "pen portraits" to the inquiry to give an insight into the lives of those who died.

Mark Dickson, a family friend delivered tributes to Mrs Kiss from Whalley, Lancashire, on behalf of the family at Manchester Magistrates' Court.

Mr Kiss said his childhood sweetheart was a "devoted" wife and mother to their three children.

"She loved life and she wanted to make every day count," he said.

"She always seemed to have an aura of love and positivity that glowed in each of her smiles."

He told the inquiry how his wife regularly went to the arena to see concerts, going six times to see her favourite band, Take That.

"How sad to think a place that brought so much joy to my family would be the place forever to take away that joy."

He said he believed his daughter comforted her mother during her final moments and she was "her mum's little guardian angel".

He thanked the emergency services who he said showed "sensitivity and true professionalism in dealing with [the] horrors" in the aftermath of the attack.

He said he took "great comfort" knowing his wife's body was taken from the arena "so respectfully".

"I know she travelled at funeral pace to the morgue," he told the court.

He also paid his respects to the people of Manchester for their outpouring of love in the days after the bomb.

"They demonstrated in the most incredible way that love can be the more powerful force," he said.

They "restored my faith in humanity during the hardest time in my life", he said.

The inquiry also heard the "pen portraits" of 14-year-old Nell Jones from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, and 43-year-old Elaine McIver, from Frodsham, Cheshire.

Nell's brother Sam Jones read out tributes on behalf of her family as her parents Jayne and Ernie and her two other brothers listened.

" She lit up our days with her energy and passion for life," he said.

"I have no words to describe the pain and grief that we feel each day, but those 14 wonderful years that we all shared together and the memories we made were truly special."

They added: "We love Nell with all of our hearts and we always will."

A number of teachers paid tributes to Nell, saying she was a "gifted and perfect pupil", a "sheer delight to teach" and "a fabulous role model for others".

David Wheeler, her form tutor at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, said she was "lovely girl, who was so popular".

"She had such a positive and cheerful manner. What a loss it is to us, her family and the community."

Nell's best friend Olivia described her as "irreplaceable".

"Nell was the best friend anyone could wish for," she said.

"She was kind and thoughtful. We shared the same wicked sense of humour. She always made me laugh. She was one-in-a-million and will live in my heart forever."

After the statement a slideshow of photographs were shown on a screen to the court while Our Love Will Grow by The Showmen was played.

Chairman of the inquiry Sir John Saunders said after the tribute Nell's death made him think "what a waste".

Ms McIver was an officer with Cheshire Police but was off-duty on the night of the attack.

In a short video message, her sister Lynda said she was a very private person and the family considered not doing a "pen portrait" but later decided they could regret it.

She said her sister was "very much loved and very much a pivotal part of the family".

"She just embraced life. She was gusto and gung ho and just a joy to be around and she would just hate to be remembered as a victim."

The inquiry was then played a montage of family photographs accompanied by Clocks by Coldplay.

The inquiry was due to start in June, but was delayed by the trial of Salman Abedi's brother Hashem, who was jailed for at least 55 years for 22 murders on 20 August.

It was set up to examine the background to the attack and the response of the emergency services.

The chairman will write a report and recommendations once all the evidence has been heard, which is expected to take up to six months.