Hashem Abedi: Manchester Arena bomber’s brother denies murder of 22 attack victims

Judge delays trial over attack at Ariana Grande concert until 2020

Hashem Abedi will go on trial in January 2020 and faces multiple charges of murder and attempted murder over the Manchester Arena attack (PA)

The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has denied conspiring to murder the 22 victims of the attack.

At an Old Bailey hearing, Hashem Abedi entered not guilty pleas for each of his charges on Tuesday, which included 22 counts of murder - one for each of the attack's victims.

His brother, Salman Abedi, denoted a suicide vest as Ariana Grande fans left a concert at Manchester Arena in May 2017, killing 22 people and injuring 260 more.

Hashem Abedi, who was raised in Manchester, travelled to Libya before the attack.

He was arrested in Tripoli and extradited to the UK in July this year.

Mr Abedi also faces a single count of attempted murder for all the other victims of the attack and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

The defendant, who was described as wearing spectacles, a grey sweatshirt and a burgundy T-shirt in the dock, was told that his trial will be delayed until 2020.

The trial has been put off from 11 November to 13 January, with the case expected to go on for up to eight weeks.

Mr Abedi allegedly made successful and unsuccessful attempts to buy bomb-making chemicals and it is claimed he helped buy a Nissan Micra to store device components and made detonator tubes for the explosive.

Additional reporting by PA