Trial date set for bomber’s brother

Hashem Abedi, the younger brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi, will stand trial next year charged with murdering the 22 people killed in the attack.

Judge Mr Justice Sweeney has set a new trial date of 13 January 2020, at the Old Bailey in London. The trial is scheduled to last six to eight weeks.

During his court appearance on Tuesday 22 October, Hashem Abedi, now 22, denied murder and also pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted murder, encompassing all the injured victims, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

The Home Secretary has also announced that a statutory inquiry will replace the inquest process.

A dedicated website had previously been set up to provide information relating to the inquests into the deaths of the 22 individuals killed, and in the coming weeks the site will be updated to cover the public inquiry.