The youngest was saffie roussos, just eight years old. Thousands of people gathered for a vigil in Manchester City centre in memory of those who died. And this afternoon, the queen led a minutes silence at buckingham palace, along with senior members of the royal family. A very good evening. Welcome to albert square. Earlier, there was a vigil here. This time last night, Emergency Services were responding to an explosion. 21,000 people were at the Manchester Arena to see ariana grande. As they were leaving the arena in high spirits, the numbers turn on its head. A 22 year old manchester born man named salman abedi, formerly a Manchester United fan, he has a manchester connections, it positions and that in the foyer and exploded a bomb. He did it among so many young people. Today, there have been a lot of police around and a lot of friends it were going on around the arena. They are trained to get to grips with the investigation. They are trained to find more about Who Salman Abedi is. But the primers came out tonight and said that they did know enough about the Support Network that might be there, and so have increased the Terror Threat level to critical. Lets hear what she had to say. It is now being concluded that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical. This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that a further attack may be imminent. The change in the threat level m ea ns imminent. The change in the threat level means that there will be Additional Resources and support made available to the police as they we re made available to the police as they were to keep us also. As a result of gtechs decision, the police have asked the secretary of defence to deploy a number of armed to the true personnel in support of their Police Officers. This is part of a wallet established plan in which the police and armed forces and bolder well trained and well prepa red and armed forces and bolder well trained and well prepared to work in this kind of environment. The Secretary Of State for defence has approved the request. The operation is now at enforced. The operation is now in force. Earlier today the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the cabinets Emergency Committee cobra. She was here in manchester a little earlier, getting to grips with the investigation, and here from the police. I should tell you a little bit about the death toll and the victims. The death toll is still a 22. 89 people are being treated at hospitals in the area. Some are in a severe condition. That death toll may do well rise. Let me tell you about what we know about the event. Police were called to the venue at 10 33 in the evening. As people were leaving the explosion happened in a foyer connecting to victoria train station. Casualties have been treated in eight hospitals in manchester. In fact, 60 ambulances, nudges from the Greater Manchester area covered from northern wales, as well, responded. Many of those being treated in hospital tonight. Our first report tonight is by our chief correspondent gavin hewitt. There are distressing images in his report. Ariana grandes concert was coming to an end when from the foyer the sound of an explosion came. There were screams, then running. A crowd of children, teenagers, parents heading for whatever exit they could find. 22 people were killed near the entrance. Nearly 60 were injured. Suddenly a massive flash and bang. Smoke. My wife, i laid her down on the floor. Shes got bruising. She had one that slided under her chin, and bruised. Shes probably broken a femur in her left leg. Something really hot flew over and landed behind me and my sister. We dropped to the floor. My mum told me to run, but i thought they were behind me, sol my mum told me to run, but i thought they were behind me, so i ran out. Then i realised they werent, so i tried to run back in because i was worried. I shouted for my mum but i couldnt hear anything. My ear is all blocked. It was really scary. All i could hear was screaming, shouting. Everyone was running everywhere. It was complete madness. It was like out of a film. Everybody was screaming. People had cuts all overtheir was screaming. People had cuts all over their legs. The injured were taken to eight hospitals across manchester. Some families were split up manchester. Some families were split up in the rush to get treatment. Armed police units patrolled the streets by the arena. Before the night was over, police knew they we re night was over, police knew they were dealing with an attack by a super side to make Suicide Bomber. During the night, specialist teams were brought in in case there we re teams were brought in in case there were other explosive devices. It was a deliberate attack on children and young people, timed just at the moment when parents were waiting to pick up their sons and daughters. It was a deliberate attack on children and young people, timed just at the moment when parents were waiting to pick up their sons and daughters. Early on, police appeared to know the identity of the bomber. I can confirm that the man suspected of carrying out last nights atrocity is 22 year old salman abedi. However, he has not been formally named by the coroner, and i wouldnt wish to therefore comment any further about him at this stage. Salman abedi was the son of refugees, a student at salford university. 0n the streets, today, survivors. They relive the terror of a concert that ended with murder. This is helen and isabella mccourt. We hit the corridor, when we saw masses of people running in absolute terror and panic to get out of the place. Young teenage children, 1a, 15. There were mothers with children, carrying them over their shoulder. There were people with even wheelchairs panicking to get out. Laura and isabellas eames concert ended in a chaotic search for an exit. Wejust ran. I dont really know which entrance we came out of. We just ran, but we also found two girls that had lost their parents, or had to get home on their own. So they were in tow. They were very scared because they were on their own. Manchester has been a city on edge, today, shaken by alerts and rumours. And a Shopping Centre evacuated. It is now beyond doubt that the people of manchester and of this country have fallen victim to a callous Terrorist Attack. An attack that targeted some of the youngest people in our society with cold calculation. This was amongst the worst Terrorist Incidents we have ever experienced in the United Kingdom. Although it is not the first time that manchester has suffered in this way, it is the worst attack that the city has experience, and the worst ever to hit the north of england. Dozens of people are still tried to trace the ones after last nights bombing. Amongst those missing is 15 year old 0livia campbell. And some of the first victims have been named. John atkinson, aged 28, from bury. And eight year old savvy resource was amongst the beacons, the underskilled. During the day, police raided a number of houses. Amongst the victimes, the youngest killed. A 23 year old man was arrested in connection with yesterdays bomb attack. An attack on an event like what happened last night has long been feared. Preventing a determined Suicide Bomber is incredibly difficult. The priority now for the police will be to discover everything they can about this man whether he is part of a Wider Network and whether there is a risk of further attacks. Today, thousands of people came together outside the town hall, in a son defiance. 0ne together outside the town hall, in a son defiance. One by one, members of different faiths said they would not be cowed. There are hard times again in the streets of our city. But we will not take defeat. And we dont wa nt will not take defeat. And we dont want your pity, because this is the place where we stand strong together, with a smile on our face. This is the place in our hearts, in our homes, because this is the place thatis our homes, because this is the place that is a part of our bones, because manchester gives us such strength from the fact that this is the place. Defiant, yes, the questions, to, as to what drove a young man to murder so many. Extraordinary in that schedule that you saw that there was spontaneous applause. We got a little about the appropriate Emergency Services, but last night, as everybody was fleeing and running in the opposite direction, paramedics and Police Officers, they were running towards it, and bear in mind, that at that point, they would have not known if there was a secondary device planted. So extraordinary calleri from the Emergency Services. That makes robbery bravery. Gavin spoke about the victims. The first victim who was named was georgina callander. A huge fan of ariana grande. And the youngest to be named so grande. And the youngest to be named so far was saffie roussos, the from leylands, lancashire. They would have come expecting a Fantastic Night Last night. Of course, that was turned on its head. With the story of the victims this evening, we go to ed thomas. The youngest life lost eight year old saffie roussos, at the concert with her mother and sister from lancashire. Today her headteacher said she was simply a beautiful little girl, loved by everyone. Also killed, student georgina callander. She idolised ariana grande. This was the teenager meeting the singer in 2015. This afternoon, Runshaw College in leyland said it is devastating. My daughter went to school this morning and i was just praying that nobody else from a school was killed. Around 11am, it was announced that georgina had been confirmed. That she passed away last night. So we talked air and down the road. We all live within four miles. To girls have died. Two. And the latest of the 22 who died to be named, John Atkinson from bury. Friends said the 28 year old old was an amazing young man. And tonight, people are still waiting to hear from loved and tonight, people are still waiting to hearfrom loved ones. People like Chloe Rutherford and liam curry from south shields. Laura macintyre and Eilidh Mcleod from the isle of barra. And Courtney Boyle and philip tron from gateshead. Behind every face, a desperate search. You havent seen this girl by any chance, have you . Excuse me . Im just asking if youve seen this young girl. Have you seen this girl . She was at the concert last night. This is the uncle of 15 year old 0livia campbell. Her family asked us and other media to show her picture and publicise the search from hotels to hospitals. Weve been as close as we can to the arena to see if we can. Weve been in the back streets, and weve been to this hospital, a couple more. Weve got friends and family that went to other hospitals. Weve got friends in blackburn who work there. Theyre looking at their hospital. Were just coming to an end. All we need to do is get in contact with her. If anybody sees her, anybody knows where she is, all we want is a phone call and we can go and get her. Manchester is also think of the injured. 59 people were taken to hospital. It is thought that 12 of the casualties were children under 16. Clearly, there were a number of individuals who have very serious injuries. And they require intensive care. And people are going to be in hospitalfor a long time. Care. And people are going to be in hospital for a long time. And tonight, at least some cause for hope. Laura mcentire, on the left, has been found in hospital, in a serious condition. But alive. Her friend, annie mcleod, is missing. Serious condition. But alive. Her friend, annie mcleod, is missingm is beyond the pension. Beyond composite and then beyond, hanjin and understanding. Serious injuries, and understanding. Serious injuries, and no further news on any mcleod. It is deeply concerning. Comprehension and understanding. Arianna grant many tears last night and many more to come as we learn more about the victims. Lets talk more about the victims. Lets talk more about the Prime Minister who has spoken outside downing street. She has raised the threat levels from severe to critical which means that in the view of the authorities, the threat of a Terrorist Attack is imminent. Lets speak to our reporter at westminster. She said it was proportionate and a sensible approach given that they do not know enough about the bomb at the moment. This is in the middle of an election campaign, so what is the politics of this . Undoubtedly this would have been a serious decision to make and i think the Prime Minister and her tea m i think the Prime Minister and her team are very clear in their speech that this was a decision made on the basis of a recommendation by an independent body. That is the joint terrorism analysis centre. Those are the experts who say that the threat level of the uk should be. Part of the reason of that is to remove politics and to make an assessment based on intelligence and operational information as to what is best for the country. Theresa may was quite clear in the speech she gave to say that she thought this was a proportionate and sensible response. She also did not want people to be alarmed it was undoubtedly she recognised that some of the measures outlined this evening that are being taken, not just the fact that the threat level has been raised, but also the fact that there has been authorisation for armed forces to go into the street to guard key locations, to have a role in security of major events and to free up more armed Police Officers. There is a natural reaction among the public which would be one of increased concern, particularly in light of the magnitude of the events in manchester. I think what the government is trying to do is to reassure and to keep the country as safe as possible. Thank you very much. I promised you that we would hear from much. I promised you that we would hearfrom new much. I promised you that we would hear from new Scotland Yard this evening. We need more detail on how this operation is now going to u nfold this operation is now going to unfold and where the soldiers will be put and how that will affect policing around the country. Lets hear from the Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations in the metropolitan police. The investigation at the moment is a massive investigation and quite fast moving and we are making good progress. Colleagues have been discussing it in the course of the day, the public will be or where of the arrest that has been made. There is more work continuing. However, as we said through the last 2a hours, the critical line of enquiry is looking at whether the dead terrorist was acting alone or part ofa group. Terrorist was acting alone or part of a group. We are 2a hours in, we have critical lines of enquiry that we re have critical lines of enquiry that were originally chasing down but that leads a degree of uncertainty which leads jtac to judge that the threat level must be raised to critical, meaning a further attack may be imminent. That happens briefly, and rarely. People would be expecting the police to do extraordinary things, Anything Possible to protect them. So the first thing we do is to Stretch Police forces, cancel it, mobilise plans and we can double our offices on the street over the top of that, looking experiences overseas, we have a plan with the military where the army will step forward to support us in our work. This is the operation referenced by the Prime Minister. We asked for permission for that to go forward and they have supported that. What that means is that all of those extra Police Officers on the street already will be augmented by Military Support. The first phase, those Military Officers will take over some of our Guiding Duties at key locations, freeing up Police Officers Tojoin Collea g u es freeing up Police Officers Tojoin Colleagues on the street. Subsequent to that, we could use Military Support Police at key locations of key events. So an extraordinary step ofa key events. So an extraordinary step of a well practised, and the last thing i would say is that anybody who has any fears or concerns about what is going on in the area, somebody they are worried about, please do not hesitate, call us with any suspicion using the terrorist hotline. So the threat level has been raised to critical which is highly unusual. It means that an attack is imminent, or that if the categorisation. Do you believe an attack, another attack is imminent . It is not myjudgement of the matter here. It is important to have independent experts doing this assessment. They have looked at the picture. The uncertainty currently flowing from the investigation and the lines of the enquiry we are chasing down, they have come to the view that the wire which he sat down it makes sense to raise the threat level to critical. As i say, we respond to that by putting extra resources around the public and the Military Support i have discussed. Do you have specific intelligence that has led you to suggest these moves . That has led you to suggest these moves . 0r that has led you to suggest these moves . Or is it a case of a lack of intelligence if that makes sense, a case of not knowing . intelligence if that makes sense, a case of not knowing . I think eve ryo ne case of not knowing . I think everyone will understand, in the middle of a live investigation, i will not discuss the wise and wherefores and detail of that. As i said, we are moving at pace, making arrests and committing searchers, but unsurprisingly there are still gaps in our knowledge and once we chase those gaps down on a precautionary basis, based on the uncertainty. We will respond to that decision. The specific threat levels are not made public. National threat level in the uk is. Is this a threat level in the uk is. Is this a threat level that applies to the entire United Kingdom or do you think that raising this threat level is specific to a city or cities . The Prime Minister was clear in her statement that the threat level has gone to critical and it is a national issue. The operation, 0peration Temperer, can we expect to see sporting venues, music venues, transport hubs, is that where we would expect to see armed soldiers . I spoke about two phases. We are quite proud in this country that we have an an unarmed Police Service. That is a great strength. In a situation like this we have special communities to stretch our abilities and that is what the military are doing. The first thing they will do is free up offices on static dad locations. The second thing is to augment patrols, potentially. The places you potentially mentioned. We will be working closely with the organisers to review the security, review their steward being arrangements and our Policing Arrangements and our Policing Arrangements and our Policing Arrangements and make sure that decisions are made that sensible and safe. You are doing this to try and reassure the public, to show the public that you have a handle on the threat. Also, i imagine, you understand that the image of british soldiers at key points will actually be quite worrying for some people. How can you assure them that the this is a reassurance rather than a reason to be scared . It is unusual, of course, but i would expect the public to think that if we get to an extraordinary situation where for a brief period the threat level is raised because of a high degree of concern, they would expect us to have planned for that. So they would expect my colleagues and i to put far more Police Officers on the street and Military Support can help us, they would expect us to plan for that. That is what they have done. They should be reassured that this is professional and well thought through. It is for a brief period while we have these lines of enquiry to accelerate pursue. We can protect and reassure the public of this dance across the country. Can you confidently say at this stage that 0peration Temperer will be at increasing . 0r 0peration Temperer will be at increasing . Or could it last for some days and weeks . |j increasing . Or could it last for some days and weeks . I will not guess the future. If you look back at our history, critical is a very unusual and rare step. There have been times in the last 20 years where we have been to this period before, never for a long where we have been to this period before, neverfor a long time, that is our hope now. But that for intense period of risk we will do Everything Possible in the military will support a string that period. That was the Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at the metropolitan police reiterating once long more that the threat level in the uk has been raised from severe to critical, meaning a Terrorist Attack is imminent. This is bbc news. Lets get a little bit more on that interview that you heard there. Tom has been conducting the interview and he could perhaps shed some light on it. The point he was trying to get across, tom, is that this is not a decision made by him or the Prime Minister, this is jtac who take everything into consideration and then make a decision on balance of what they have. What do you interpret from the decision that they have you decision that they have made . You are correct, i mean, they will have taken into are correct, i mean, they will have ta ken into account are correct, i mean, they will have taken into account intelligence not just from the police but also from the Security Services and weighed up all those decisions. To give you a little more detail about this critical issue, this rating that the governments advisers are put on the situation, that system was only introduced in 2006 and it was used that year when there was a potential threat against a nightclub in the centre of london and then an actual attack on Glasgow Airport when a car was crashed into the front of the building. Again, as he said there, it did not last for long. It was used when you later in 2007 when the Security Services and the police discovered a plot to bring down airliners and, again, it did not last long. It is extremely unusual. The please do not like using it nor does the government. It sends a message that there is a significant risk, that an attack could well be on the way. But to look at what the commissioner was saying there, he was clear. He had given a statement tonight which made this clear as well, the point is they do not know whether this man acted alone. They have to be continuing their investigations to find out if there was anyone else because if there was someone else, then there is a significant risk that there could be another attack. He has been quite careful not to give anything away but it is clear that it is a serious situation. It is worth reiterating, isnt it, that there are so many different agencies that are working together here. You havejchq, at mi5, mi6 and together here. You havejchq, at m15, mi6 and this Forensic Explosive Laboratory in kent are looking at whatever they can retrieve. All those agencies coming together will provide them with an answer. M those agencies coming together will provide them with an answer. It is a huge operation and are probably start abroad with mi6 because we are looking closely at this mans background. We believe his father is in libya as we speak and, clearly, overseas there will be some efforts to try and find out more about him. Mi5 to try and find out more about him. M15 handle the domestic situation so there will be analysts are looking closely at what was known about this man, whether he travelled recently to the uk, whether he travelled around the country recently. And also there may well be surveillance out and about tonight and all throughout the day looking at any associates that may be connected with them. And then you get to the Counterterrorism Officers who are doing similar work, looking at people f . With doing similar work, looking at peop and e with doing similar work, looking at peop and you work with doing similar work, looking at peop and pg work through this explosive experts and to this explosive experts and forensics at the scene. There is also the ongoing security situation. In westminster, where we are now, i can tell you that there are armed police in cars on standby in case there is any sort of an attack. I wont say where, but they are around. Clearly wont say where, but they are around. Glggrlg ,. , ; 5527; took not i took is going w and i , ~ ~ ~ ~ , is going w and 0peration ~ , all that is going on. And 0peration Temperer, announced tonight, actually does allow more of those officers, Police Officer is rather than soldiers to be more visible and out on the streets. It may be that, initially, soldiers are used to protect the Nuclear Establishments around the country, so that the Civil Nuclear officers who are armed can be moved off those duties and into Counterterrorism Operations around the country. There are an important part of the Armed Response Workforce if you like of the Police Service nationally. In the initial stages, those armed officers, those armed soldiers, will be used in that way. We do have a busy time