Manchester Arena Bombing Survivor Details Confrontation with Conspiracy Theorist

Martin Hibbert, a survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing, has recounted the moment he directly challenged a conspiracy theorist who asserted that the attack, which left him with permanent injuries, was a fabricated event. Mr. Hibbert and his daughter, Eve, successfully sued Richard Hall for harassment in the High Court, resulting in an award of £45,000 in damages on Friday. The 2017 bombing caused Mr. Hibbert, a father of one, to sustain a spinal cord injury, while Ms. Hibbert suffered severe brain damage. Hall had previously characterized this attack as “a lie.” Mr. Hibbert, residing in Chorley, Lancashire, stated: “It was never about the money. It was about a father protecting his daughter.” He further explained: “When the police told me he was filming outside our house, that’s when it got very serious and I had to do something.” The attack, which occurred as attendees were departing an Ariana Grande concert, resulted in the deaths of twenty-two people and injuries to hundreds more when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device in the venue’s foyer. Hall had informed the court that his assertions were in the public interest, given his role as a journalist, and contended that “millions of people” had “bought a lie” concerning the incident. Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Mr. Hibbert recounted: “The trial was in July and I came face to face with him for a week, when he’s actually there in person and he’s saying he believes these things. “The worst part of it all was when I had to get Eve’s birth certificate and send it to the court because he didn’t think that I was Eve’s dad. “It still hits me in the heart that he was saying that. I’ll never forgive him for that.”All the other things are sticks and stones, but when somebody says you’re not a person’s dad, that shows you how low he is.” He noted that Hall, who was also ordered to pay approximately £240,000 in court costs, displayed “no remorse.” Mr. Hibbert stated: “He did a runner out of the courtroom. It was like something out of Wylie Coyote, all the steam coming from his feet when he ran out.” He continued: “He firmly believes there was no bomb, it’s a government set-up and we’re crisis actors. Even the judge said it’s absurd, fantastical. You believe what you’re saying and that’s his right, but I’m not having it.” He added: “Not only is he saying that I’m a liar and that other people are liars, but he’s saying that the surgeon that saved my life and worked on me for 14 hours doesn’t exist.” “My mum had to drive from Bolton to Salford Royal, and all those things that went through her head, he’s saying that never happened and I cannot stand that. I cannot live with that,” he further elaborated. Mr. Hibbert explained that he pursued legal action against Hall “for my mum, my neurosurgeon that saved my life, all the beautiful people at Salford Royal, all the amazing people at Manchester Children’s Hospital that looked after Eve for nearly 12 months because she was injured that bad.” He mentioned that while the legal proceedings took two years to reach court, the “harassment and the trolling” had persisted for five years. “It’s been tough but I had a cracking night’s sleep [on Friday],” he commented. He concluded: “He’s not even allowed to utter our names now or he’s in contempt of court, so we’ve got that now. We can live in peace.”