Government to give Manchester what it needs following terror attack

The government will pay Manchester the full costs of the Manchester Arena terror attack, Theresa May told Manchester Evening News. The Prime Minister has vowed that the total amount spent by police, NHS bodies, and councils in dealing with the May 22 attack, which claimed 22 lives when a bomb went off at the Manchester Arena, will be compensated by Number 10. It comes after outrage when Number 10 announced it would only pay £12 million of the £17 million asked for by local leaders, arguing it had a day to reimburse only ‘reasonable costs’. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Turnham revealed the true cost of the attack could actually run to £28 million. May has now stated that the city will get everything it needs and has committed to covering every cost incurred by services who helped victims and their families. A taskforce has been set up within the Cabinet Office to make sure different government departments responsible for processing different payments to Manchester all work together. In a statement, Theresa May told the Manchester Evening News: “Be in no doubt, Manchester will get the financial support it needs – and if that costs £28 million, as Andy Burnham has estimated, then that is what we will make available. “I promised in the wake of the appalling atrocity this government would do all it could to help victims recover and the city to heal. I repeat that commitment today. “Where your public services have had to bear, or will bear, unexpected and exceptional costs in coping with this terrible attack, these will be met by the government. The process of making those payments is on-going and I understand the frustration felt at the pace of delivery. So I have taken steps to speed up our response. “The taskforce will co-ordinate the cross-government response - pulling together the work of the Home Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice.”