Manchester Arena bombing: the terror attack that shook Britain
6/22/202650 min
The Manchester Arena bombing was the deadliest terror attack in Britain in a decade. Salman Abedi killed 22 people - including children and teenagers - when he detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. But how was he able to do it? And how was his brother finally brought to justice years later?
Neil was a senior counter-terrorism figure at the time. He reveals how the security services responded, where the intelligence failures were, and the painstaking effort to prosecute Hashem Abedi for his role in the plot.
Andy had spent months in Manchester before the attack, investigating a different terror cell, and explains how so many members of a community on one Moss Side estate became radicalised by ISIS.
Plus, they both explain how the tragedy led to Martyn's Law, and whether what we learned from this attack is enough to prevent the next one.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Speaker 20:28
[upbeat music] This is a global production.
Andy Hughes· Host0:34
The blast just tore through the crowd, killing 22 people and maiming hundreds more, and many of the victims, Neil, were just children and teenagers.
Neil Basu· Host0:45
Probably one of the worst atrocities in the history of the United Kingdom.
Andy Hughes· Host0:48
Wow.
Neil Basu· Host0:48
And the second-biggest loss of life to terrorism since 7/7.
Andy Hughes· Host0:51
We based ourselves in Manchester for six months investigating a terror cell, and we all said the same thing, "Oh, my God. I hope he's not on our list."
Neil Basu· Host1:00
The fact that we didn't know that was a terrible underestimation by the whole national security machine of who these Libyan expatriates were.
Andy Hughes· Host1:08
Where were you when you first got the call? How does it work once this country has been attacked in such a brutal way?
Neil Basu· Host1:15
You just never forget that moment. You never forget what it does to you.
Speaker 21:18
[gentle music] The Crime Agents.
Andy Hughes· Host1:22
Welcome to this episode of The Crime Agents with me, crime journalist Andy Hughes.
Neil Basu· Host1:26
And me, the ex-cop Neil Basu.
Andy Hughes· Host1:28
Neil, we're talking about, I'm