As throngs of gleeful fans were preparing to leave the Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017, no one could have suspected the horror that was about to plunge American singer Ariana Grande's concert into a nightmare. An Islamist extremist suicide bomber detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb killing 23, including the bomber himself and injuring 1017.
The deadly attack was the largest and the first suicide bombing in the U K since the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Salman Ramadan Abedi, a Manchester resident of Libyan ancestry, was believed to have acted alone though his brother Hashem Abedi, was found guilty of 22 counts of murder, for in short his knowledge of his brother's plans.
On the 9th of December 2021 the expert reports of expert witnesses such as Professor Lynn Davies on The Radicalisation of Salman Abedi and the role of the educational institutions came to light in the Manchester Arena Inquiry: "The Behaviour Barometer: An Education and Awareness Tool to recognise radicalisation behaviours leading to violence".
This category includes a variety of behaviours that attest to an exclusive and sectarian allegiance to an ideology or a cause, which lead the individual to perceive violence as the only legitimate and valid means of action.
• Takes part in violent extremist group activities by any means whatsoever (material, financial or physical) Recruits individuals for a violent extremist cause (or encourages their enlistment to that cause)
• Is in contact with a group or a network of individuals known to be violent radicals, either online or in real life
• Reinforces own beliefs through regular consultation of violent extremist Internet forums and websites Commits or plans violent or hateful acts inspired by ideological motives or a violent extremist cause Learns about, seeks to acquire or knows how to use weapons (firearms, explosives, etc.) outside the legal bounds
• Plans a trip to a conflict zone or to a region in which violent extremist groups are known to be active
Extract from the expert report of Dr Matthew Wilkinson, dated 20/12/2020 claims that the number of Islamist extremists is minute compared with a peaceful mainstream Islam following. In the factors in the radicalisation of Salman Abedi he outlined the following factors:
Noxious Absences
1. Prolonged disengagement with mainstream English education (1009-1017)
2. Prolonged parental absence and neglect in England (2011-2017).
3. Absence of effective school-based Religious Education or mosque based education (2010-2017).
4. Absence of civic connection and engagement to UK life (2010-2017).
5. Prolonged enculturation into Violent Islamist Extremist Worldview at home (1994-2017).
6. Regular, often quasi-military, Islamist engagement in Libya (2011-2017).
7. Sustained engagement with a delinquent and/or radicalising peer-group in England (2010- 2017).
8. Excess of identification with the Islamist struggle for control of 2017). Libya (2010-2017).
Evidence can be seen on the website of the Manchester Arena Enquiry. Evidence posted here includes documents, photographs, plans and statements. This database may include materials which some people may find distressing. These include accounts, descriptions and images during and after the 2017 attack. The search function below can be used to filter by witness, evidence type and date. https://manchesterarenainquiry.org.uk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Arena_bombing#/media/File:Manchester_Arena_exterior,_(3)_May19.jpg
https://witnessdirectory.com/signup.php
