Manchester Arena attack survivor suing conspiracy theorist who claims it was staged
Research from Kings College London shows that of 4,000 people surveyed as many as 14% think that crisis actors were probably involved in the Manchester Arena attack.
Martin HIbbert, a survivor of the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack who was paralysed from the waist down, is suing a conspiracy theorist who claims that the tragedy was staged.
Hibbert and his daughter Eve, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the attack, have both been targeted by UK conspiracy theorist Richard D. Hall.
Richard D. Hall maintains that the attack was a hoax and has physically tracked down survivors of the Manchester Arena attack to determine whether it was fake.
The conspiracy theorist, who says that those killed in the attack are really alive and living abroad, has also been profiting from his theories – selling books and DVDs outlining his theories, as well as sharing videos on Youtube and speaking at events.
The shocking events have been uncovered by the BBC’s disinformation correspondent Mariana Spring and will be aired as part of a BBC Panorama investigation and Radio 4 podcast investigation later today.
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Speaking on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme this morning, Martin Hibbert said that whilst he supported freedom of speech he felt that Hall was “crossing the line” by “making money from people’s misery”.
He told the programme: “I’m friends with a lot of the deceased’s family and I’m friends and in contact with a lot of the survivors. A lot of them people are recluses in their own home, they’re too scared to even come out, to even come into Manchester, and that’s what kind of made me deal with it head-on.
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“I’m not having it, especially with Eve, my daughter, she’s got enough on her plate at the minute without silly people like this.”
He continued: “It’s not about kind of silencing people but when people cross a line, when err, you know, they’re going out and you know, seeing people at their home, filming people when they don’t even know they’re being filmed and they’re writing books, making money from people’s misery, that’s when it has to stop, and that’s what we’re going to do.
“I’ve spoke to my legal team and you know they’re going to get on with it, so we will shut him up and we’ll shut him down, and it will then act as a precedent.
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“If you’re going to do this, if you’re going to cross the line, then you’ll be stopped and you won’t make money from it, and that’s what you’ve got to do.
“He’s a bully at the end of the day and er you’ve got to go down to his level to teach him a lesson and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Commenting on the news, Andy Burnham said that it was “deeply worrying” before adding: “The law needs to be changed to make it a serious criminal offence to peddle these offensive lies and conspiracies with custodial penalties.”
The actions of Richard D. Hall are emblematic of a general rise in UK conspiracy theorists following the pandemic, said Spring.
This is deeply worrying.
The law needs to be changed to make it a serious criminal offence to peddle these offensive lies and conspiracies with custodial penalties. https://t.co/9bviZGrtrk
According to research from Kings College London, of 4,000 UK people surveyed as many as 14% said they thought that crisis actors were probably involved in the Manchester Arena attack.
The Panorama investigation will air on the BBC tonight, whilst the Radio 4 podcast series is available on BBC Sounds now. Youtube has removed Hall’s channel and another one that promoted his content following conversations with the BBC.
Former Manchester City player Joey Barton found guilty of assaulting his wife
Danny Jones
Ex-footballer Joey Barton has officially been found guilty of assaulting his wife following his two-day trial in the capital this week.
Barton, who played for Manchester City, Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers and a number of other clubs, was convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 25 March, following an incident back in June 2021.
The former midfielder left his wife, 37-year-old Georgia Barton (McNeil), with a bleeding nose and a bruise on her forehead following a drunken row at their home in London.
Barton is said to have grabbed and pushed her to the floor before kicking her in the head. Married in 2019, the two have four children and are thought to still be together.
The 42-year-old was still employed in professional football as the manager of Bristol Rovers at the time, but he was ultimately sacked in October 2023.
His wife called 999 at the time, telling police that he had hit her, but later retracted her statement.
Born in Huyton, Merseyside, the chief magistrate Paul Goldspring recognised that the one-time England has a history of violence.
He was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence, meaning he won’t serve time unless he commits another offence and has been ordered to pay £2,138.
Since dropping out of mainstream football, in particular, Barton has come under heavy criticism for allegations of racism, sexism and controversial right-wing politics; he even started an ‘anti-woke’ podcast called Common Sense with Joey Barton.
Back in June of last year, he was ordered to pay £35,000 in damages to settle a libel claim with presenter Jeremy Vine after a series of inflammatory comments made online.
The Radio 2 presenter sued Mr Barton earlier this year, after the former footballer wrote a series of posts suggesting Mr Vine had a sexual interest in children.
He also accused of threatening fellow former pro, Eni Aluko, after a torrent of abuse regarding her punditry online – the ex-England international even went so far as to say she no longer felt safe staying in the country.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach to close five iconic rides after £2.7m loss
Daisy Jackson
Blackpool Pleasure Beach has announced it’s closing five of its rides for the season, as well as reducing its opening hours, after reporting a pre-tax loss of £2.8m.
The beloved North West attraction has been pulling in families and thrill-seekers since it opened in 1896, famed for rides like the Big Dipper – a classic wooden rollercoaster – and The Big One.
Despite being such a popular tourist attraction, finances are biting for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and it’s reported that five rides will close for the 2025 season.
The news comes almost exactly a year after it announced the heartbreaking closure of Grand Prix after 64 years.
The theme park has said that visitor numbers still haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic, leading to altered opening times to ‘maximise efficiency and cost’.
Five ‘less popular’ rides will be closed this year – Red Arrows Skyforce, Eddie Stobart Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, and Gallopers.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach said that 2025 is an ‘exciting but transformational’ year for the theme park.
In a statement, they said: “This year we’ve made the decision to close some of our smaller, less popular rides during the 2025 season: Eddie Stobart Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, Gallopers and Red Arrows Skyforce.
“The smaller rides were already being run on reduced opening times and our rider data showed that they have some of our lowest throughput, while Skyforce is 10 years old this year.
“After a great deal of thought, it was clear to us that the right decision is to make changes which will allow us to reinvest into a bigger and better future.”
Blackpool Pleasure Beach recently announced where some of that reinvestment is heading – and it’ll see an exciting new £8.72M ride opening.
The Gyro Swing will be the largest of its kind in the UK, leaving riders ‘completely weightless’ as they dangle from a spinning pendulum that swings 120 degrees and reaches 138 feet at its highest point.
Recent accounts show that Blackpool Pleasure Beach made a loss of £2.8m in the last financial year, compared to a £789k loss the year prior.
Georgina Pellant -
31st October 2022 
