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Ariana Grande concert attack: UK court dismisses conspiracy

October 23, 2024

A father and daughter who both survived the 2017 concert attack in Manchester have won a harassment claim. Former TV producer Richard Hall had claimed that the attack, which killed 22 people, was staged.

https://p.dw.com/p/4m979
Candles laid out for the victims of the Islamic State-inspired terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK
The 2017 attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester was inspired by the so-called Islamic State groupImage: Jonathan Nicholson/NurPhoto/picture alliance

A British court has ruled in favor of two survivors of the 2017 suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, after a former TV producer claimed the attack was a hoax.

Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve were among those badly injured in the attack, which killed 22 people. The father was paralyzed from the waist down, while the daughter, aged 14 at the time of the attack, suffered a traumatic brain injury.

The pair sued Richard Hall for harassment and data protection breaches after he claimed in several videos and a book that the attack was staged.

Conspiracy theorist sought 'commercial gain' — judge

Judge Karen Steyn issued a 63-page ruling in which she ruled that Hall's "false narrative" had harassed the Hibberts and that he had "abused media freedom" to make his claims for "commercial gain… sufficient to enable him to continue his work."

Steyn said Hall's course of conduct was "a negligent, indeed reckless, abuse of media freedom."

"Over a period of years, he has repeatedly published false allegations, based on the flimsiest of analytical techniques, and dismissing the obvious, tragic reality to which so many ordinary people have attested," the judge wrote.

On November 8, a hearing will decide whether the Hibberts should be granted an injunction and paid any damages.

Sued for filming terror attack victim

Martin Hibbert described the decision as a "comprehensive victory," adding that he was hoping for an injunction.

"I am really pleased with not only the overall judgment, but also the many comments of the judge as to how unacceptable Hall's behavior was," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.

"I do want this to open the door for change, and to help protect others from what we have been put through in the future."

Hall claimed his actions were in the public interest and that "millions of people have bought a lie."

Among the actions Hall was sued for was an incident of filming Eve Hibbert outside her home.

The 2017 attack was carried out by a 22-year-old Manchester resident of Libyan descent and was inspired by the Islamic State group.

rmt/lo (AFP, AP, Reuters)