Arrest warrant issued after Manchester Arena bomber's brother misses court hearing

An arrest warrant's been issued for the elder brother of the Manchester Arena bomber for failing to give evidence at the public inquiry into the attack.

Ismail Abedi, who fled the UK last summer, did not attend a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Last month the 29-year-old was found guilty in his absence of failing to comply with a notice which compelled him to co-operate with the inquiry into the May 2017 atrocity.

He faces a jail term of up to 51 weeks for the offence if he is captured or hands himself in.

Prosecutor Sophie Cartwright QC told the court that notification of Tuesday's hearing had been sent to Abedi's last known address.

An email was also sent to an address he had previously used to correspond with the solicitor to the inquiry as well as a message to his former solicitors, she said.

District Judge Jack McGarva said he was satisfied that Abedi was aware of the hearing and also noted that the proceedings had had a "great deal of publicity".

Issuing a warrant without bail, he said: "We will now have to wait for him to be apprehended."

Abedi's brother, Salman, 22, killed 22 people when he detonated a suicide bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.

Hear the latest news on Downtown on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.