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The Story

The Manchester Arena bombing: Four years on

The Story

The Times

Daily News Podcast, Exclusive Interviews, Daily News, Current Affairs, Global News, News, Investigative Reporting, Long-form Audio, In-depth Journalism, Audio Storytelling, News Analysis, Politics, Uk News

3.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2021

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It happened on the 22nd of May 2017, when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb as attendees of an Ariana Grande concert were exiting the Manchester Arena, leaving 22 people dead and hundreds injured. An investigation by The Sunday Times has found that a notorious Libyan drug gang operating in Manchester may have had more to do with the attack than previously known.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.

Guest: David Collins, Northern editor for The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips used: BBC and Sky.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, I'm John Curtis, and I'm Rachel Wolf.

0:05.2

We want to tell you about our new podcast, Trendy from Toy Toys.

0:09.6

It's all about what people think and why politicians do what they do.

0:14.1

Each week we're going to look at the most important social, political and economic trends,

0:18.8

in the hope that we can come to a better understanding of where we are as a country.

0:23.0

New episodes will be available every Thursday morning.

0:25.9

Search for Trendy, wherever you get your podcast.

0:41.9

It was the night of the 22nd of May, 2017.

0:45.9

This is the ambulance service, it's a patient grieving.

0:48.9

At the end of January, Manchester, I just got off at the foray.

0:52.9

It was an attack that shocked and horrified the world and struck deep at the heart of a city.

0:59.9

The attacker recklessly targeted children and teenagers at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.

1:07.9

We're just getting a report now from Greater Manchester Police, who are now saying that there have been confirmed a number of fatalities following reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena.

1:21.9

The 22 people died that night as a result of the attack by a suicide bomber, a man who was a local, a resident of Manchester.

1:31.9

I can confirm that the man suspected of carrying out last night's atrocity is 22-year-old Salman Abidi.

1:40.9

Four years on, as the inquestant of the attack continues, new information has come to light, detailing a Libyan connection.

1:49.9

I'm fairly convinced that the abady brothers were not alone. There were other people who possibly assisted and probably knew what was going to happen.

2:00.9

What do we now know about what happened in the run-up to that night?

2:05.9

And why has there only ever been one terrorist conviction related to the attack?

2:10.9

We are where we are. There are five suspects that are in Libya, who either left before or after the bomb attack, who are likely to never return to this country.

2:21.9

You're listening to stories of our times from the times in the Sunday Times. I'm Manvine Ronner.

2:27.9

Today, the Manchester Arena bombing, four years on.

...

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