Libya agrees to extradite Manchester Arena bombing suspect

The brother of the Manchester Arena bomber will be extradited back to the UK, it has been confirmed.

Angry relatives of the bombing victims have feared they'd never get justice of the terror attack.

But Hashem Abedi, who was arrested in Libya shortly after the terror attack, looks now set to be sent from the country to the UK.

A provisional start date for full inquests on the suicide bombing by his brother Salman Abedi was set for April 6, 2020 – almost three years after the atrocity.

But a hearing in February was told this must wait until the criminal probe into his 21-year-old brother Hashem – a suspect who has been held in Libya since the horror – is complete.

Now the BBC says Hashem will finally be kicked out of Libya to face justice.

But the process is understood to be on hold while the security situation in Libya remains unstable.

Violent fighting broke out in and around the capital Tripoli last month.

Speaking in November last year, Greater Manchester Police said it had been granted a warrant for the arrest of Hashem.

But in February, relatives gathered in Manchester hoping to hear when the man will arrive but were only told the "extradition process is in progress".

Steve Howe, who lost wife Alison, 45, in the blast, walked out. The 63-year-old said: "They did not give us any answers. There is no point sitting listening to nothing."

Saying he feared Hashem would never face justice here, he added: "I don’t think the extradition will happen.

"We’d feel better if we knew where he was being held but they won’t answer that. We’ve had no information. They are beating about the bush with it. There is nothing worse than time-wasting."

Salman, 22, killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

Martyn Hett, 29, was among the victims.

The Coronation Street fan, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, was described as "wonderful, iconic and beautiful".

His mum hopes her petition 'Martyn's Law' will change security at public venues.