A claim that the Manchester Arena terror attack was staged by government agencies and did not kill or injure anyone is “absurd and fantastical”, a High Court judge has ruled.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter, Eve, who were both left with life-changing injuries after the bombing that left 22 people dead in 2017, are bringing legal action against Richard Hall, who has been spreading the conspiracy theory.
Mr Hibbert was left with a spinal injury and Eve, who was 14 at the time of the attack, has severe brain damage as a result of the explosion that took place as crowds left the Ariana Grande concert.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a home-made, shrapnel-packed device in the Manchester Arena - with hundreds injured as the blast dispersed thousands of nuts and bolts.
However, Mr Hall has claimed the terror attack was faked.
He is said to have made money from selling books and DVDs outlining various conspiracy theories he promotes, as well as speaking at events and posting videos online. His videos are reported to have had more than 16 million views on YouTube.
He has been accused of visiting the homes and workplaces of those injured in the bombing - including Miss Hibbert’s home - and recording footage of them.
A BBC investigation in 2022 found that he shared a video demonstrating that he set up a camera to film Eve, who is disabled and in a wheelchair since the attack, to see whether she could actually walk.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A claim that the Manchester Arena terror attack was staged by government agencies and did not kill or injure anyone is “absurd and fantastical”, a High Court judge has ruled.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a home-made, shrapnel-packed device in the Manchester Arena - with hundreds injured as the blast dispersed thousands of nuts and bolts.
He is said to have made money from selling books and DVDs outlining various conspiracy theories he promotes, as well as speaking at events and posting videos online.
A BBC investigation in 2022 found that he shared a video demonstrating that he set up a camera to film Eve, who is disabled and in a wheelchair since the attack, to see whether she could actually walk.
Mr Hall, representing himself, argued that there is no “first-hand tangible evidence”, like CCTV footage or photographs of injuries, to prove the father and daughter were at the arena or were hurt as a result of the blast.
The judge continued: "Whilst acknowledging that issues as to the claimants’ presence at the attack and the attack itself are separate and distinct, once the defendant’s general hypothesis has been rejected, as I have rejected it, it is unrealistic to maintain that the claimants were not there and were either not severely injured at all or acquired their injuries earlier and by a different mechanism than the bombing.
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