Arena bombing inquiry hearings begin this morning

The Manchester Arena Inquiry main hearings will commence today (Monday) at Manchester Magistrates Court.

The Inquiry will be opened by the Chairman, Sir John Saunders.

The hearings will begin by Counsel to the Inquiry reading the names of the 22 victims of the attack - who included Royton mums Lisa Lees and Alison Howe - followed by a one minute silence.

The Chairman will then make opening remarks before Counsel to the Inquiry Paul Greaney QC commences the opening statement.

Counsel to the Inquiry will set out the evidence that it is expected will be heard in the course of the oral evidence hearings and summarise the key issues to be considered and determined by the Inquiry.

It is anticipated that the opening will take approximately three days.

The Inquiry will then move to Commemorative Hearings, where families of those killed in the attack will provide a portrait of the person they have lost.

These important Commemorative Proceedings are at the heart of the Inquiry process.

They are currently scheduled to take place between September 10-24, 2020.

Each Core Participant will then have the opportunity to provide opening statements to the Inquiry between September 28-30.

On October 1, the Inquiry will hear evidence from a police officer from Greater Manchester Police to provide an overview of key materials that will be used in the Inquiry.

The Inquiry will hear 15 chapters of evidence in total, breaking for Christmas on December 17 and resuming on January 11, 2021.

The Inquiry evidence phase is currently scheduled to run to Spring, 2021.

The Inquiry will investigate the circumstances of how the 22 people killed in the Arena attack died.

It will also examine evidence about the Arena complex and security arrangements; the planning and preparation for the attack; the events of May 22-23, 2017; the emergency response; the detonation and its effect; the experience of each of the 22 deceased; the background and radicalisation of Salman Abedi; and the preventability of the attack.

The Inquiry will then look at any recommendations before Core Participants and Counsel to the Inquiry make their closing statements.

The Manchester Arena Inquiry is operating with limited attendance due to Covid-19 and so it is not currently possible for members of the public to attend in person.

Anyone who would like to follow proceedings can do so in a variety of ways:

* The Inquiry will provide a video feed of each day’s proceedings on its YouTube channel, here

* Transcripts of the day’s proceedings will be published on the Manchester Arena Inquiry website each day, alongside evidence shown in the hearings, here 

* The Inquiry will publish updates and information on its social media feeds on Twitter @mcrinquiry

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