Judge Says Claims Manchester Arena Bombing Did Not Happen Are ‘Absurd’

A High Court judge has said a claim made in a book that the Manchester Arena bombing was staged and Salman Abedi was an “intelligence asset” who did not kill anyone is “absurd and fantastical.” Last year Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve, who both suffered life-changing injuries in the 2017 bombing, brought legal action against Richard Hall, author of a book published in 2020 called “Manchester: The Night of the Bang.” Unlike the Sandy Hook case in the United States—where broadcaster Alex Jones was sued for defamation by the families of victims who said he had accused them of lying—the Hibberts were suing not for defamation but for harassment, misuse of private information, and data protection....