Survivors of the Manchester Arena terrorist bombing of 2017 are reportedly taking legal action against a conspiracy theorist who claims the outrage didn't happen and was a 'deep state plot'.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter, Eve, were both left with severe disabilities after the blast, which followed an Ariana Grande concert and left 22 people dead. Mr Hibbert, from Bolton, who uses a wheelchair, suffered 22 shrapnel wounds, including one that severed his spinal cord, as he attempted to shield Eve from the explosion.
In October last year, he spoke out to reveal he had been notified by police about one conspiracy theorist. An investigation for the BBC's Panorama programme reported Richard D Hall, whose YouTube channel once had more than 80,000 followers, visited victims' homes and even set up cameras in a bid to prove they had lied about their injuries.
READ MORE: Father of youngest Manchester Arena bombing victim says he will sue MI5 over failures
In a video posted on his website, Mr Hall admitted spying on Eve from a vehicle parked outside her home, and said he had made 'door to door enquiries' to peddle his theory.
Speaking to the M.E.N. at the time, Mr Hibbert said: "I have known about this guy for about four years - I think he has taken a liking to me when I have been on the TV. He says things like I'm not disabled and that I wasn't actually in the attack.
"I didn't take him seriously until last year when police said they were going to see Eve and they asked me if I knew a man called Richard Hall. I didn't know his name at the time. He had posted a video saying he had set up cameras outside her house. That's when I took it a bit seriously. I wondered how far he was willing to go to back up this story."
Now the BBC reports Mr Hibbert and his daughter have filed legal action against Mr Hall, alleging defamation and harassment.
It is the first time such action has been launched in the UK against a conspiracy theorist, reported the corporation. Mr Hall, said the BBC, did not respond to a request for comment on the situation.
They said the family is seeking an injunction to restrain Mr Hall from making similar allegations in future and damages for some of the harm he has caused them.
The BBC said the case echoes the action against US conspiracist Alex Jones, who was ordered to pay nearly $1.5bn by a US court to families of the US Sandy Hook school shooting after falsely claiming the 2012 attack was a hoax.
"Martin can be seen as a pioneering trailblazer for others to follow if they feel so minded," his lawyer Neil Hudgell told the BBC.
Mr Hibbert, meanwhile, said the situation feels 'like a bit of a weight' and that the family wanted to be able to move on with their lives, according to the report.
Following the Panarama investigation, the BBC said Mr Hall's YouTube channel was removed, but his website features and comment about the Arena Attack.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has reportedly met with Mr Hibbert to discuss campaigning for a new law to better protect survivors of tragedies from harassment. The Online Safety Bill, meanwhile, is set to introduce a new regulatory regime to address illegal and harmful content online.
The long-running public inquiry into the bombing ended in February last year after 194 days of scheduled evidence. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a device in a rucksack as crowds left the concert at the venue on May 22, 2017. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the UK since the 7/7 London bombings in 2005.
The Manchester Evening News has contacted Mr Hall for a response to the BBC's article.
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