Manchester bomb: Millions hold minute's silence in memory of 22 killed in terrorist attack

Jason Collie25 May 2017

Millions of people have observed a minute's silence in remembrance of the 22 people killed in the Manchester concert suicide bombing.

The silence also marked the nation's solidarity with those who were injured in the blast as well as others affected by the atrocity.

The largest gathering was in St Ann's Square, where thousand stood around the floral tributes that have been laid since the tragedy on Monday.

Crowds then broke out into applause at the end of the solemn 60 second ceremony.

Minute's silence for Manchester bomb victims

1/16

Manchester's mayor, Andy Burnham, then lay flowers.

In London, mourners paused to remember the victims outside Westminster - scene of its own terrorist atrocity in March - and soldiers and police outside Buckingham Palace were also seen to observe the silence.

Mourners in Westminster
Jeremy Selwyn

Hundreds of people gathered outside Greater Manchester Police headquarters for the minute of silence, with crowds pouring out of nearby buildings to join the officers.

Other police forces across the country joined in the act of remembrance, with a show of solidarity also taking place at Scotland Yard.

Court proceedings were paused at London's Southwark Crown Court.

Judges, jurors, lawyers and defendants in the dock all stood in silence as a mark respect.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins asked those gathered to spend a minute "reflecting" on the events of Monday night.

"Particularly remembering the families of those 22 victims who perished in that terrorist atrocity that we saw here in our great city.

"I'd like you to also think about those that still lie in our hospitals, some very critically injured. Think of them and their families," he said.

He also asked people to reflect on the "great work" of all the emergency services in responding to the attack, hailing their "true professionalism".

Devastated: Mourners in St Ann's Square
PA

He thanked everyone for attending and "showing the community strength that exists" in the area, adding that it sends a message to victims' families that "we are standing here with them".

The silence at GMP HQ began and ended with a whistle, with the crowds applauding before they walked back to their offices.

Outside the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where medics fought through the night to save victims, staff stood together for a moment's silence before breaking into spontaneous applause.

Inside, doctors and nurses paused their duties and stood on balconies overlooking the main reception.

Flags will remain at half-mast on government buildings until Thursday evening, said a statement released jointly by 10 Downing Street, the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people, including children, and injured 59 when he attacked crowds leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday evening.

Police officers stationed at suicide bomber Abedi's last known address paused their duties to observe the minute's silence.

Uniformed officers guarding the cordon still in place in Elsmore Road, Fallowfield, removed their caps and helmets at 11am and stood facing away from the property.

Their colleagues in forensic examination suits came out of the semi-detached property to join them in the sweltering sunshine.

Staff in all government buildings were expected to observe the silence.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in