Manchester Arena inquiry: Woman told police suicide bomber was praying before explosion

Salman Abedi at the entrance of Manchester Arena before detonating the bomb. Photo / Supplied

The father of a concert-goer challenged the Manchester Arena suicide bomber and reported him to security staff but was "fobbed off", the public inquiry into the atrocity was told yesterday.

A woman working at the venue also flagged Salman Abedi, 22, who was sitting on the floor and praying, to a police officer moments before the attack.

Despite this, nothing was done and Abedi detonated his backpack bomb, killing 22 innocent men, women and children on May 22, 2017.

Abedi detonated his backpack bomb, killing 22 innocent men, women and children on May 22, 2017. Photo / Supplied

The revelations emerged on Monday at the Manchester Magistrates' Court, the first day of the long-awaited inquiry into the atrocity.

Families of those who died heard for the first time that security experts will give evidence to say there were "missed opportunities" to "reduce the impact" of what happened, potentially saving lives.

They have highlighted ineffective risk assessments, defective staff training, poor planning and an underestimation of the threat posed by terrorism by security bosses at the arena and the police, said Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the inquiry.

He also revealed that experts commissioned to examine the emergency response into the attack had raised "significant concerns". They will say that co-ordination between Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service was "not adequate or effective" and there had been a "failure" to manage the response to the attack.

The names of the 22 victims were read and a minute's silence was held at the start of the hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court.

The inquiry, which is expected to last for at least six months, is being held to explore whether more could have been done to prevent the terror attack at the end of a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande.

The court heard that one survivor, known only as Witness A, was so concerned about the behaviour of Abedi, who was bent over with the weight of his bag which contained 30kg of shrapnel, that he decided to challenge him, bravely asking: "What have you got in your rucksack?"

When the man, who was waiting to pick up his daughter, got no reply, he pressed Abedi: "It doesn't look very good, you know, what you see with bombs and such, you with a rucksack in a place like this. What are you doing?"

Manchester-born Abedi replied: "I'm waiting for somebody, mate. Have you got the time?"

Witness A walked away and, at 10.14pm - 17 minutes before the explosion - reported Abedi to a member of the Arena's security staff, Mohammed Agha.

Witness A later told police the employee 'wasn't interested' and he was "fobbed off".

Agha waited nine minutes (10.23pm) before reporting Abedi to a colleague, Kyle Lawler.

But both men, who were employed by Showsec, the firm contracted to provide security by SMG, which ran the venue, returned to their posts and failed to alert the security control room or the police.

Greaney said Lawler disputed that he did nothing and claimed he went to investigate. He says he watched Abedi acting nervously and tried to radio concerns to the control room, but all the channels were busy.

Abedi was seen 'adjusting wiring' underneath his clothes in the moments leading up to the devastating terror attack. Photo / Supplied

Lawler later told police: "I just froze and didn't get anything out on the radio. I knew at that point it was too late."

Greaney said Julie Merchant, who had been working for a private firm contracted to crack down on people selling illegal merchandise at the event, also flagged Abedi to a British Transport Police officer.

She and a colleague first saw the bomber at 9.40pm - almost an hour before the attack - praying on the floor of the mezzanine above the City Room, close to the entrance to the main arena, where he detonated the bomb at 10.31pm.

She reported him to PC Jessica Bullough at 9.59pm, and their conversation was caught on CCTV, Greaney said.

But he added: "PC Bullough says she doesn't recall anything of this conversation. Julie Merchant expresses herself pretty sure that her interaction with PC Bullough was to do with Salman Abedi and the fact he was praying.

"She decided to make the officer aware of the fact but not because she considered it suspicious... she believes it was to do with praying and political correctness."

Greaney said two security experts had concluded: "If the presence of a potential suicide bomber had been reported it is very likely that mitigating actions would have been taken that could have reduced the impact of the attack."

He said their report would detail a "series of concerns", including the fact that there was "no effective risk assessment" of the threat posed by terrorism at the arena - despite it coming just two months after the Westminster attack, when the Government had upgraded the threat level in the UK to "severe".

Abedi's first trip to the arena occurred on May 18. Photo / Supplied

Showsec staff on duty on the night of the attack did not receive a counter-terror briefing to remind them about reporting or challenging suspicious behaviour and their terrorism training was "out of date" and had "serious defects", the hearing was told.

Two British Transport Police officers and three police community support officers, who were responsible for policing the arena because it was linked to Victoria Railway Station, were on duty on the night of the tragedy.

But, the court heard that the most experienced of them was redeployed to investigate a burglary at the last moment.

Another two officers, PC Bullough and PCSO Mark Renshaw, also went off on a 2hr 10min meal break, which clashed with a break taken by their colleagues. It meant there was a period of 18 minutes when no police officer was on patrol at all, Greaney said.

Formally opening the inquiry, which is being streamed via YouTube because of the coronavirus pandemic, chairman Sir John Saunders said: "If I conclude things went wrong then I shall say so, but we are not looking for scapegoats.'We are searching for the truth."