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Pop star Ariana Grande has vowed to return to Manchester to give a concert to raise money for the victims of Monday's deadly bombing, as UK police continued their investigations and arrested a 44-year-old man in connection to the attack.
Key points:
- Ariana Grande says she will return to the "incredibly brave city of Manchester" to spend time with her fans
- Police arrest another person in connection to the attack, bringing the total to nine in custody
- Campaigning for the national election on June 8 has resumed
Twenty-two people were killed and dozens more badly injured after Grande's concert at Manchester Arena when a suicide bomber, suspected to be 22-year-old Salman Abedi, detonated an improvised explosive device.
In a statement both defiant and heavy with emotion, Grande posted a statement on Twitter, saying "we won't let hate win" and "we won't let this divide us."
She apologised for any pain and offered to "extend my hand and heart and everything I possibly can give to you and yours".
"Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before," she wrote.
"I'll be returning to the incredibly brave city of Manchester to spend time with my fans and to have a benefit concert in honour of and to raise money for the victims and their families.
"We will continue in honour of the ones we lost, their loved ones, my fans and all affected by this tragedy.
"They will be on my mind and in my heart everyday and I will think of them with everything I do for the rest of my life."
She did not announce a date for the concert.
'Large part of the network' arrested
Meanwhile, British police arrested the 11th person in their investigation into the attack — a 44-year-old Rusholme man — with the country's top counter-terrorism officer saying a "large part of the network" behind the bombing was now in custody.
Two people have since been released without charge, police said, while nine remain in custody for questioning.
Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley said "immense" progress had been made in the investigation, but more arrests were likely.
"They're very significant, these arrests. We're very happy we've got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about," he said.
"But as I say there is still a little bit more to do."
Since the attack, armed police backed up by the army have been patrolling cities and trains. Interior minister Amber Rudd said the official threat risk remained at its highest level, "critical", meaning another attack is expected imminently.
Hospitals have been warned to be ready. However, Security Minister Ben Wallace said there was no evidence of a specific threat over Britain's holiday weekend, when major events will take place including Saturday's soccer FA Cup final in London, where extra armed officers will be on duty.
As campaigning for a national election on June 8 resumed after it was suspended following the attack, the opposition Labour Party, emboldened by a rise in opinion polls, criticised Britain's foreign policy for increasing the risk of attacks.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also chided Prime Minister Theresa May for cutting spending on policing.
"We must be brave enough to admit the 'war on terror' is not working," he said.
Ms May hit back: "Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks are our own fault."
"I want to make one thing very clear to Jeremy Corbyn and to you: and it is that there can never, ever be an excuse for terrorism."
AP/Reuters
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, foreign-affairs, security-intelligence, crime, terrorism, united-kingdom