Manchester attack: Theresa May admits she has not met any of the families of those killed

'I felt it was important to allow people to have some private time to grieve.

Theresa May admitted she had not met any of the victims of the Manchester bombing (ITV Tyne Tees)

Theresa May admitted she has not met any families of people killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist atrocity in May.

The Prime Minister told ITV Tyne Tees that she had spoken to people caught up in the suicide attack on a pop concert by Ariana Grande, when 23 people died including the murderer, Salman Abedi.

But she said that at the time she wanted to give families space to grieve in private.

Ms May said: "I have met a number of people who have been directly victims of the attack, who were at the attack. I haven't met anybody who was from a family where anybody died in the attack.

"At the time, I felt it was important to allow people to have some private time to grieve. It isn't the case that we have made no effort to have contact with people affected by the Manchester bombing.

"This was a terrible attack. I think as Prime Minister, the first concern that I had, and must have, is ensuring that our police and security services were able to investigate this."

More than 250 people were hurt in the 22 May blast, sustaining injuries ranging from paralysis and loss of limbs to internal and facial injuries.

Abedi was born in Manchester to Libyan parents, had left the UK for Libya in April after telling relatives he was making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The 22-year-old had made numerous trips to the country after his parents returned to live there during the country’s bloody civil war, possibly fighting against Muammar Gaddafi’s soldiers alongside his father.

Islamist groups swiftly gained power in the conflict, where Isis has seized the opportunity to gain a foothold amid warnings the country could become a primary launch pad for terror attacks in Europe.

Among the countless militias battling in Libya is Katibat al-Battar al-Libi, an Isis special operations unit whose operatives are said to have met Abedi during his visits to Tripoli and the coastal city of Sabratha.

His younger brother is expected to go on trial in Libya over his alleged role in the terror attack.

Hashem Abedi was arrested in Tripoli and stands accused of aiding the Isis-linked plot.

He also lived in Manchester, and left the UK for Libya on the same day as Salman in April.

Libyan officials previously said Hashem told them he and his brother started supporting Isis (which claimed responsibility for the massacre) in 2015, “through the internet and some friends in the UK”.

The 20-year-old is expected to be in court within the next two months, and is being held in custody by the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord – one of two rival governments in the country.

Their father, Ramadan Abedi, was also arrested in May, but denied knowledge of the plot and has since been freed.