Manchester Arena bomber 'smiled' as he walked to his death

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi was smiling as he walked to his death and murdered 22 bystanders by detonating his home-made bomb, a public inquiry has heard.

Abedi, 22, was on his mobile phone as he made his "final walk" after waiting for crowds to emerge at the end of a concert at Manchester Arena in 2017.

Seconds later he detonated his device packed with 3,000 nuts and bolts.

Showsec security guard Mohammed Agha told the inquiry he was not initially suspicious of Abedi.

Mr Agha had seen Abedi outside the Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017, dressed in black and carrying a big, bulky rucksack, three times earlier that night, but he did not think him suspicious until minutes before the bombing when he agreed it "crossed his mind" Abedi might be a suicide bomber.

He denied he "fobbed off" a member of the public, Christopher Wild, who came to him to report his suspicions about Abedi at about 22:15 BST.

Fifteen minutes later Abedi left his position at the back of the City Room, a CCTV "blind spot", to detonate his device.

Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry said: "How did the man seem to be at that stage as he made that final walk?"

Mr Agha replied: "He was on the phone, mobile phone, he was smiling."

Mr Agha said he had passed on Mr Wild's comments about Abedi to a colleague, Kyle Lawler, at 22:25, some eight minutes after Mr Wild had first raised his concerns.

Mr Agha, aged 19 at the time and being paid the minimum wage of £7.90 an hour, said that night his job was to stand by a fire exit.

He had no radio and said if he left his post, except for an emergency, he might lose his job.

Families of some of the victims wiped away tears and others shook their heads as the witness continued his evidence.

Mr Agha said he tried but failed to attract the attention of his boss, standing 30 metres away across the room, by raising his hand.

When Mr Lawler passed by him, he spoke to the fellow Showsec steward, who had a radio, in order to report what Mr Wild had said to his superiors in the control room.

As he and Mr Lawler looked at Abedi, he described the bomber as, "kind of looking nervous, or kind of looking fidgety. He was playing with his hands".

Mr Greaney asked the witness if he thought one possibility was that the suspicious man with the backpack might be a suicide bomber.

Mr Agha replied: "Not, not like, I did think about it, but it was not fully in my head."

Mr Greaney continued: "Do you agree, it did cross your mind that this man might be a bomber?"

Mr Agha replied: "Yes."

The inquiry continues.

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