Manchester attack widower 'as upset as day it happened'
The families of victims are left frustrated after a coroner says they may have to wait until April 2020 for full inquests.
Thursday 28 February 2019 16:57, UK
A man whose wife died in the Manchester terror attack says he is "as upset today as the day it happened" after being told the inquest into the deaths of the 22 victims might be delayed until next year.
Relatives were told the delay was due to the ongoing extradition of Hashem Abedi - bomber Salman Abedi's brother - from Libya.
But Steve Howe from Oldham, who lost his wife Alison in the bombing, claims authorities do not know where he is.
The families may have to wait until April 2020 for the full inquests to take place - almost three years after the attack.
Tewnty-two people died in the terror attack in May 2017 at an Ariana Grande concert.
Hundreds of others suffered either serious physical injuries or mental health issues having survived the atrocity.
Speaking after a pre-inquest review, Mr Howe told Sky News how he walked out of the hearing once he found out there were no updates available on the extradition.
He said: "We have asked, 'where is he?' They keep saying he is being held by a militia group but I don't think they know.
"We would feel better if we knew where he was and we knew he was held captive but they won't answer that question.
"Now we have to wait another 13 months... I feel as upset today as the day it happened - once they realise how hurt we are they might actually do something about it."
At the pre-inquest review hearing at Manchester Town Hall, coroner Sir John Saunders heard that families of the victims wanted more transparency from the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) about the status of the extradition.
They said they still did not know if Hashem Abedi was being held in detention while the Libyan and UK authorities work on the extradition.
Greater Manchester Police have previously said that Hashem Abedi's arrest warrant related to the "murder of 22 people, the attempted murder of others who were injured and conspiracy to cause an explosion".
Although no date was given for his extradition, the coroner heard that criminal proceedings that will likely follow on after he arrives back in the UK mean that the full inquests will be delayed.
Sir John told the hearing: "The advice that I am being given is that we cannot realistically be ready before the 6th of April (2020)... it is absolutely vital that having set a date we do actually meet it and get on with it."
The case also heard that the scope of the full inquests will cover whether the attack could have been prevented by the UK authorities and precisely what was known about Salman Abedi before he detonated his device.
The 22-year-old grew up in Whalley Range in south Manchester and had been living in Fallowfield at the time of the attack.
In November 2018, the intelligence agency MI5 acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the tracking of Salman Abedi.
The security arrangements inside and outside the arena will also be examined in the inquests along with a detailed analysis of what happened to each of the 22 victims on the night of the attack.
The families were promised a "most vigorous investigation into those important issues".