The backlash against detaining a terror suspect in Manchester under the Mental Health Act is naive and wrong

The Mental Health Act exists to protect the public, but also perpetrators who may not have been in control of their actions when they committed a crime. That doesn’t mean we’re seeing a conspiracy

News that the suspected perpetrator of a terror attack in Manchester has been detained under the Mental Health Act has unsurprisingly caused a Twitter storm.

Three people were injured in the knife attack which took place at Victoria Station in the city on New Year’s Eve. A 25-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder at the scene, and police confirmed on Tuesday that they were treating it as a terror incident.

Understandably, any suspected terror attack creates heightened fears and tensions in the community, and this was no different. But the backlash after the suspect was detained has been particularly strong.