The final report from the Manchester Arena public inquiry into the terrorist attack reveals 'people in Libya probably knew' what suicide bomber Salman Abedi 'intended to do'.
The revelation marks a shift from a previously held position of MI5 that no one other than Abedi and his now jailed brother Hashem were aware of the plot.
Sir John Saunders, the inquiry's chairman, pointed to unnamed and unknown people in Libya, where the brothers visited throughout their lives. He also ruled it was 'likely' the Abedis received practical instruction on how to assemble an improvised explosive device and how to 'avoid detection' while in Libya.
In a statement delivered after the publication of Sir John's third and final report - which found missed opportunities on the part of security service MI5 to stop the terror attack and delved into the circumstances behind the bomber's radicalisation - he said: "During the time Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi spent in Libya, during which they were probably involved in fighting, they are likely to have come into contact with a number of violent extremists.
"It is likely that those extremists included members of the Islamic State who would be in a position to provide the brothers with expertise in making of bombs and in carrying out counter-surveillance measures. As leading counsel for the inquiry said during one of the hearings: how was someone of Salman Abedi's limited intelligence and abilities able to succeed in committing this atrocity despite any safeguards which were in place?
"The likely answer is he was provided with help."
The report said Abedi's 'radicalisation journey into operational violent Islamist extremism' was driven by 'noxious absences and malign presences'.
The absences refer to his prolonged disengagement from mainstream English education and the absence of his parents. The 'malign presences' include the conflict in Libya and his 'engagement with a radicalising peer group'.
The brothers, said the report, were taken to Libya at 'impressionable ages' of 16 and 14.
Sir John said: "Ramadan Abedi took his sons to Libya during the period of conflict. It is likely that Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi were involved in combat there. It is probable that Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi were radicalised in Libya to some extent and that they obtained some form of training or assistance in how to build a bomb in Libya, as well as counter-surveillance training.
"The security service's assessment of the intelligence picture as it had been built up following the attack was that Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi may have joined Islamist groups in Libya and attended training camps there.
"Other than Hashem Abedi, there is insufficient evidence to attribute specific knowledge of the attack to members of the Abedi family. However, it is clear that the wider Abedi family holds significant responsibility for the radicalisation of Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi."
Despite pleaded not guilty at his trail Hashem Abedi - now jailed for a minimum of 55 years for the 22 murders - confessed to the inquiry's legal team after his conviction.
He admitted playing a 'full and knowing' part and provided a statement branded 'Islamic State propaganda' by Sir John. "For this reason, I will not rehearse any of its content," he said in the report. "Nor should it ever see the light of day."
Sir John ruled the Salman Abedi must have had 'additional training' in terms of the bomb itself, but said there's no evidence to reveal when or where that took place.
He also referenced 'evidence that is consistent with my conclusion that help was given to Salman Abedi in Libya', saying there was a 'material possibility' a switch used in the bomb's construction was acquired by him in the country.
Sir John said: "In my view, it is likely that, while in Libya during the period April 15, 2017 to May 18, 2017, Salman Abedi received practical instruction on how to assemble an IED. The evidence does not enable me to reach any conclusion as to who provided this instruction or the circumstances in which it occurred."
The brothers, he added, are also 'likely' to have received advice from others in Libya on 'how to avoid detection'. "As with the bomb-making, there is no evidence that enables me to say who gave this advice or in what circumstances it occurred," he said.
The bomb itself, said Sir John, took six months to construct and required components from 'a number of sources' and considerable knowledge.
The Abedi brothers 'acquired' what are known as precursor chemicals for the explosive between early January 2017 and April of that year. But Sir John said: "The evidence, while creating reasonable suspicions regarding other individuals, is insufficient to establish on the balance of probabilities that any of those who participated in the acquisition of precursor chemicals knew that those chemicals were to be used in a bomb.
"However, there were people in Libya who probably knew what Salman Abedi intended to do.
"The Security Service assessment, based on the intelligence picture as it stood at the time, was that no one other than Salman Abedi and Hashem Abedi were knowingly involved in the attack plot.
"The evidence I heard, while creating reasonable suspicions regarding other individuals, is insufficient for me to conclude on the balance of probabilities that any of those who participated in the acquisition of precursor chemicals knew that those chemicals were to be used in a bomb.
"However, it is more likely than not that there were others who were knowingly involved in plotting a bomb, even though they might not have known all the details of the plot."
Read more of today's headlines here
READ NEXT:
