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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Rebecca Speare-Cole

Manchester Arena bombing: Father of youngest victim says he is still looking for answers on second anniversary of attack

The father of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing has said he is still looking for answers on the second anniversary of the attack.

The inquests into the victims’ deaths have been delayed while authorities await the extradition from Libya of Hashem Abedi, the brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who detonated the device during the Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.

But Andrew Roussos, whose eight-year-old daughter Saffie was the youngest of 22 victims killed in the attack, expressed his frustration as the relatives wait for answers.

A girl is comforted during a two minute silence is observed in memory of the victims in Saint Anne's Square. (Getty Images)

He told Sky News: "We're all waiting for this inquest so we can voice our anger or our concerns or have answers to our questions and it keeps getting put back and put back and put back and we're all exploding inside.

"We need to start the inquests to get the answers that we want.”

Messages are written ahead of a two minute silence in memory of the victims of the Manchester Bombing in Saint Anne's Square. (Getty Images)

A two minute silence was held in Saint Anne's Square on Wednesday to commemorate two years since the 22 victims died in the attack.

A two minute silence was held in memory of the victims (Getty Images)

Survivor Adam Lawler, whose friend Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, was one of the victims, told the broadcaster he wanted to see Hashem face justice.

He said: "I think the main thing right now that would unify a lot of people is bringing him to justice.

"I won't say his name because he doesn't deserve the gratification of a name, so bringing him over, putting him to justice in our system, putting him to justice in any system where he cannot harm people, he cannot be allowed to freely walk about."

An extradition request for Hashem was granted in October 2017 but he is yet to return to the UK.

The inquests are currently expected to take place in April next year.

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