Survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing have launched a legal action against a conspiracy theorist who has falsely claimed the attack was faked.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve were severely injured in the terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 that left 22 people dead.
The family have accused Richard D Hall of defamation and harassment after he promoted the theory that the attack never took place, and reportedly tracked them down and admitted spying on them. Last Friday, they sought an injunction and damages, having initially signalled their intention to bring legal action in October 2022.
Hibbert was at the concert with Eve, who was 14 at the time. They were standing about 5 metres from the bomb when it detonated and are thought to be the closest people to it to survive. Both need to use wheelchairs after sustaining serious injuries.
On Monday, the Hibberts’ lawyers, Hudgell Solicitors, said: “We can confirm that proceedings were issued in the high court on Friday on behalf of Martin and his daughter Eve.
“Those proceedings are for protection from harassment and misuse of private information and include an application for a restraining injunction and damages. Mr Richard Hall will shortly be served with papers and will then have an opportunity to formally respond.
“Martin is very determined to shut this individual down from harassing his family, and for peddling his outrageous slurs, lies and repugnant views that have caused continuing offence and distress.”
Announcing their intention to pursue the legal action last October, Neil Hudgell said Hall had made “outlandish claims following the Manchester Arena atrocity that our clients are not genuine and did not suffer the life-changing injuries they did”.
He added: “Several of our clients have had this man on their doorstep, taking photographs, invading their privacy in the most intrusive way. Martin and others are determined to stop this individual from continuing with his repugnant behaviour.”
The BBC said Hall had admitted to its reporter that he spied on Eve Hibbert from a vehicle parked outside her home, noting that he had described online his practice of tracking down survivors of major incidents to pursue his theory that their injuries were faked.
The broadcaster reported that, when it confronted Hall before the start of legal proceedings, he said its coverage of his activities was inaccurate and claimed to have received death threats. Hall has not responded to a request for comment.
According to the BBC, Hudgell said his client could be “seen as a pioneering trailblazer for others to follow” for taking such action against a conspiracy theorist. The broadcaster likened the case to that brought against the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in the US after he falsely claimed the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.
Hibbert told the BBC: “It does sometimes feel like a bit of a weight, so it would be nice to be able to put it to bed and just be able to move on with our lives.”
