Hashem Abedi trial: Manchester Arena bomber waited an hour for fans to leave before blowing himself up

Jury shown CCTV images of terrorist’s movements before deadly explosion

Six of the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack: (clockwise from top left) Elaine McIver, 43, Saffie Roussous, 8, Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, Megan Hurley, 15, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, Nell Jones, 14 (PA)

The Manchester Arena suicide bomber waited for an hour before blowing himself up as children streamed out of an Ariana Grande concert, a court has heard.

Salman Abedi, 22, was captured on CCTV carrying a rucksack containing his homemade explosive device as he made his way to the venue on the evening of 22 May 2017.

He spent 10 minutes in a public toilet at Manchester Victoria railway station before heading to the arena’s City Room entrance at 9.30pm.

Abedi detonated his 36kg bomb, packed with screws and other shrapnel, as the foyer filled with thousands of men, women and children at 10.31pm.

On Friday jurors at the Old Bailey were shown an artist’s impression of the device and a series of CCTV stills tracking Abedi’s movements.

The final image captured him standing in the middle of the concourse 15 seconds before the explosion, which killed 22 bystanders aged between eight and 51.

Prosecutors claim Abedi’s Manchester-born brother, Hashem, is “just as responsible” for the terror attack.

Hashem Abedi, now 22, was arrested in Libya the day after the bombing before being sent back to the UK.

He refused to answer police questions but issued a statement denying any involvement in the terror attack, the court heard.

“Had I had any idea of it, I would have reported it to my mother initially and then to other family members to prevent it from happening,” he said.

“I was shocked my brother had done this and felt bad for everybody. I could never have envisaged that my brother had it in him to do this to innocent people.”

The former electrical installation student denied supporting Isis but admitted he had asked people to buy sulphuric acid – a key ingredient for the bomb – on behalf of his brother.

“I asked him why he was getting it from different people and he told me it was because companies have a maximum limit they can sell,” he said.

He also claimed he had been tortured while being held in Libya.

The brothers are said to have duped friends and associates into helping to buy components of the home-made explosive TATP, while switching vehicles and phones to ensure their actions went undetected.

They used an empty house to take delivery of the chemicals ordered on Amazon using others’ bank details and fake emails, it is claimed.

Hashem Abedi denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.​

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by the Press Association