Manchester Arena survivors to sue conspiracy theorist

Two Manchester Arena survivors have filed legal action against a conspiracy theorist who claims the attack was faked.

Father and daughter Martin and Eve Hibbert are suing Richard D Hall for defamation and harassment. Martin was paralysed from the waist down and Eve was left severely disabled by the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, which killed 22 people.

This is the first time action of this type has been taken against a conspiracy theorist.

Last year, a Radio 4 podcast series and BBC Panorama investigation revealed that Richard D Hall tracks down survivors to their homes and workplaces to see if they are lying about their injuries. Hall admitted that he spied on Evie Hibbert from a vehicle outside their home. He has also sold a book in which he described his tactics, and promoted theories online that other UK terror attacks were staged.

The Hibbert family is now seeking an injunction to restrain Hall from making similar allegations in future and damages for some of the harm he has caused them.

Image: G-13114, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons