Return to Transcripts main page
Amanpour
Manchester Mourns Victims Of Terror Attack; ISIS Claims Responsibility For Manchester Bombing; Police Name 22-Year-Old Salman Abedi As Attacker; World Leaders Express Support for Manchester; Eyewitnesses Describe Chaos after Attack on Concert. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired May 23, 2017 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:15] CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the program. I'm Christiane Amanpour here in Manchester, a city
that's been rocked by sadness. But this evening, nearly 24 hours after that terrifying terrorist attack, united somewhat in grief. Tonight,
people of this large, vibrant metropolis up here in the North of England are coming together in solidarity and at least in strength of numbers.
They've just held a vigil to remember the innocent victims of last night's terror attack. That was in Albert Square in the heart of the city.
22 people died last night, and almost 60 were injured when a man detonated explosives outside a pop concert by the American tinny (INAUDIBLE)
heartthrob, Ariana Grande herself, only 23 years old. And she, of course, is an artist who's so popular with the youngest of the young. The concert
was full of young children and mostly their mothers. Heartbreakingly, amongst those who died, we've learned today two names. The 18-year-old -
the 18-year-old and also an 8-year-old named Saffie Rose Rousos, the 18 named Georgina Callander. The city's mayor said that it was, quote, "Our
darkest of nights."
Now, ISIS has claimed responsibility but no one knows whether that's really a legitimate claim. And police have named the bomber as 22-year-old Salman
Abedi, and that is the only information they've given us. We don't know whether he's a British national, we don't know whether there were any
others in this attack. And this is the moment just after the blast went off, people were screaming in panic, as you can imagine. Now many people
were still inside the Manchester Arena when the bomb went off. Jessica Pierpoint was at the concert and she described what she saw to CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA PIERPOINT, MANCHESTER ATTACK WITNESS: Honestly, nobody knew what it was at the time, and a lot of people thought it was a gun. I thought it
was a gun at first. And I just remember seeing screams and like (INAUDIBLE) rather and just seeing everybody crying and knocked out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, Carol Long's eight-year-old daughter was also at the show. She survived the explosion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL LONG, MANCHESTER ATTACK WITNESS: The Children to see their idols and then have this impacting the rest of their lives is disgusting. These
people are cowards. They're just sick cowards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: And you can imagine how parents are going to have to try to deal with their children, how so many parents are visiting the hospitals,
searching still for children who are still missing but also many of them knowing that their children in the hospitals have life-threatening diseases
or rather injuries, as also do have the adults, as well. The attack, as you can imagine, has sent shockwaves through Manchester, which is one of
Britain's biggest cities. It's famous internationally for its music, for its art, for its sports.
The Prime Minister Theresa May held a security meeting in London this morning before she traveled here. She described the blast as a callous
terrorist attack. And eyewitnesses who attended the Ariana Grande concert have been describing what they went through following the explosion. As I
said, Carol Long attended the event with her 10-year-old daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: She's just been crying. She's just been crying, she's just saying "Why do these things happen to people? Why do they keep doing this to
people?" Again, she's just so worried that they're going to come to her school. And I'm disgusted. I'm breaking down today because yesterday I
was just -- I had to be strong for her to just remain calm and just make sure that we got home safe, which thankfully, we did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, troublingly, some of the eyewitnesses described the security at the Manchester Arena last night as "somewhat lackadaisical."
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Security wasn't really up to standards as compared to normal concerts. Basically, we went in, we weren't searched at all. It
was just (INAUDIBLE) tickets and that was it. Well, their friends I've talked to, they had bags and they weren't checked. It just was like
lackadaisical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, Richard Baron has worked in counterintelligence with both MI5 and MI6. He's also chaired a U.N. panel on counterintelligence, and
he's right now working with the international global security firm called Soufan Associates, and he's joining me now. Richard, thank you for joining
me. We have been here so many times before. Just describe to me how this country managed to escape, you know, for the last 12 years, a major
bloodletting like this. What went into what happened last night?
[14:05:18] RICHARD BARRETT, FORMER BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL AND THE SOUFAN GROUP SENIOR ADVISER: Well, I think we've been lucky, Christiane,
over the last few years. The security services have disrupted now at least 14 plots over the last 4 years, and any of those, had they been successful,
would have possibly resulted in something like we saw yesterday here in Manchester. Last night, yes, why did that one get through? Obviously,
that's going to be a big question. But it's inevitable I'm afraid that some of these attacks will get through. And maybe there'll be small ones
like we saw towards the end of March when Khalid Masood ran people over on Westminster Bridge and hacked a policeman to death in parliament, or there
may be major ones. But the problem is in predicting who, of all the people who are under suspicion, all the people who are under some sort of
surveillance, is likely to step forward and commit an attack like this.
AMANPOUR: Richard, they have identified the man who they say was carrying an IED, a 22-year-old man. We don't know many more details, but of course,
the conversation today has been about whether this was a lone wolf, that word that we hear so many times. What exactly in today's world does a lone
wolf mean? From what you can see, how sophisticated was that explosive device? And give me the breakdown in how you are now describing a lone
wolf. It doesn't necessarily mean alone.
BARRETT: No, indeed, that's right. And lone wolf is a nice label, and I think it gets used -rather, overused even because of that. It's an
attractive label and sort of provokes an image of somebody evil, sinister, and stalking. But this guy, a 22-year-old, is unlikely to have planned
this attack and prepared for it purely on his own. In fact, there's been another arrest early this morning, and other people, I think, are under
surveillance or even in custody now. So he's probably member of a broad -
AMANPOUR: Indeed, there was -
BARRETT: -- and I think that that broad - sorry.
AMANPOUR: I was - yes - confirming that there was an arrest - sorry to - sorry to interrupt you. There was an arrest of a 23-year-old. I mean, you
know, we're standing here, it looks like a pretty nondescript background, but it is the - one of the exits of the arena where, you know, 24 hours ago
people were trying to stream out in some panic from back there. But when you look at what's going on here, some people have suggested that perhaps
there should be a state of emergency here in Great Britain, just like has been in effect in Paris and other parts of France since those attacks
there. Is that an overreaction?
BARRETT: Well, I would think so. I don't quite know how we should behave in a state of emergency rather than how we're behaving now. It's all very
easy to ratchet up the response, but it's very hard to ratchet it down again. And France has been essentially in a state of emergency since the
Charlie Hebdo attacks. And that hasn't prevented, unfortunately, other attacks from happening. And if you do react or overreact, as I might
describe it, I think you're encouraging terrorists to see that they do actually have a - have an effect, they have an impact, they make people
more anxious, they get more people on the streets, more policemen on the streets. And therefore, you know, they create this atmosphere of fear,
which is after all, what they're out to achieve.
AMANPOUR: The Prime Minister today in her statement outside Downing Street, said among many other things that the state of -- the level of
security here remains at severe. And she explained that that means there might be another attack. I mean, that is a pretty terrifying thing. What
do you, from all your experience in counterintelligence, counterterrorism, what do you think we're going to see in the next 28 to 48 hours?
BARRETT: Well, I think the risk of an attack a couple of days ago was as high as the risk of attack tomorrow and the risk of attack next week will
be as high as it is today. So, I think just because we've had one attack, it doesn't mean to say that's exhausted the battle as it were. There may
be other people out there planning attacks, and even, there may be some who are encouraged by the impact of this attack. So, there's no room for
complacency whatsoever, and I'm absolutely certain that nobody in the British authorities and the security authorities will in any way be
complacent in thinking that in dealing with this one, they don't have to look out for others coming down the pike.
[14:09:56] AMANPOUR: Richard Barrett, thank you so much for joining us.
And next, after a break, we're going to be talking to Afzal Khan. He has a personal connection to this city. He's an MEP but he was also the former
lord mayor of the Greater Manchester area.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AMANPOUR: Moments ago, thousands of people flocked to Albert Square, that is in the heart of downtown Manchester. They came to pay their respects.
Some were carrying placards saying, "I love Manchester," some were carrying flowers, and they all came and applauded when members of the city council
and other local dignitaries talked and led the vigil and pledged that this city would remain united and the terrorists would not rip the fabric of
this city apart. The poet, Tony Walsh was there and he read his ode to Manchester, "This is the Place". Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY WALSH, POET: This is the place, in the northwest of England. It's ace, it's the best. And the songs that we sing from the stands, from our
bands set the whole planet shaking. Our inventions are legends. There's not we can't make, and so we make brilliant music, we make brilliant bands,
we make goals that make souls leap from seats in the stands. And we make things from steel, we make things from cotton, we make people laugh, take
the mick sommat rotten, and we make you at home, we make you feel welcome, we make summat happen, we can't seem to help it. And if you're looking
from history, then yes we have a wealth.
But the Manchester way is to make it yourself. And make us a record, a new number one, and make us a brew while you're up, love, go on. And make us
feel proud that you're winning the league, and make us sing louder and make us believe that this is the place that has helped shape the world. And
this is the place where a Manchester girl named of Emmeline Pankhurst from the streets of Moss Side -- from the streets of Moss Side led a suffragette
city with sisterhood pride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: A moment to smile perhaps. You heard the cheers down there when the poet Tony Walsh really rousingly rallied that crowd to remember the
pride of this city and the space that it occupies in the United Kingdom. Well, joining me right now is the MEP of (INAUDIBLE). He is also the
former lord mayor of the Manchester area. Thank you for joining us. We've spoken before when some of these attacks have taken place elsewhere in
Great Britain. How is your city going to survive?
AFZAL KHAN, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER AND FORMER LORD MAYOR OF MANCHESTER AREA: Well, you've seen this tonight, this afternoon, this vigil. I was
there.
AMANPOUR: And you were there when you heard the poet and all of them speaking.
[14:14:51] KHAN: It was amazing experience. You saw tens of thousands men coming together in the spirit of unity, defiance, cheering, message of
love, solidarity. This is what Manchester is all about, so I am absolutely firmly - I believe this, that Manchester actually is going to be even more
stronger, not weaker.
AMANPOUR: And we saw members of different faith communities coming out from the town hall. We saw MPs, we saw all sorts of counselors and
dignitaries. And people in the crowds, you know, desperate to be rallied. They had their flowers, they had, as I said, placards saying, "I love
Manchester". But I mean, this was depraved what happened last night. That almost -- you actually can't put words to what people did, killing
children.
KHAN: That's like a bolt going through Manchester, to be honest. Real shock and horror. Unbelievable, yes? But this is why you also saw the
other side now, the opposite side of coming together and saying, no, no, no, not in our (INAUDIBLE) we will not have this. And this is such an
emotional, powerful scenes which I felt there. I think this is what Manchester is best at. Whenever we're challenged, you know, we stand up
and give (INAUDIBLE)
AMANPOUR: Have you been able to talk to any of the officials, any of the police officials, do you know anything about this young man who's been
named as the person carrying the IED, according to the police? His name, 22-year-old Salman Abedi.
KHAN: Yes, but, you know, this information, I think police, the emergency service have been doing amazing job since yesterday. They've been flat-out
dealing with what had happened but then also getting on with the investigation. They're making (INAUDIBLE) parties, they've made another
arrest as well. We have full confidence in our police force. They will do a good job and we'll get on top of this.
AMANPOUR: People like yourself, you know, who believes like so many the majority of this country in actually being law-abiding citizens, what do
you say now to those in this city who clearly demonstrated, at least this one, that is not? Is there any kind of pocket of support for somebody like
him to grow his radical ideas, his hate-filled whatever it might be?
KHAN: Look, the world we're living in is really difficult, in the sense that it's so much easy for us to move around, which is amazing, but it can
be used negatively. And equally, we can communicate so easily all over. Some of these things are throwing up new challenges for us all. And it's
this we need to manage. You will always get - you know, what we're seeing here, a small number they can cause such devastation, such a shockwave
throughout the world almost. But we need to get on top of it, we need to keep the hope alive, we need to really get the whole people rallied like
this what we've seen today in Manchester.
I firmly believe that the humanity anywhere is very strong, very powerful. They are the majority, overly majority. It's the small number minority we
need to deal with them, we need to challenge them, we need to do our best so they understand.
AMANPOUR: I mean, there's a - there's a "how" to that, obviously. They are a minority, but they're there, some of them as we know are common
criminals, some of them are thugs who have been to prison who think they found religion and have come out and have done this kind of thing. There's
umpteen reasons for why these -
KHAN: Yes. Some have mental problems.
AMANPOUR: Some have a mental problem.
KHAN: So, it is complex, you know.
AMANPOUR: So, what's to be done? This is happening now with alarming regularity.
KHAN: Yes, that's right. So what we need to do is really keep reaching out further. More first, being that good example, making sure we keep an
eye on some of our young people, making sure, you know, what some of the things they're doing, what they're saying, helping them.
AMANPOUR: Do you think the whole community is prepared to keep an eye on and to report whoever might seem to be up to no good in this way?
KHAN: Look, it's a very difficult time where we are standing but I think if you'll reflect back in the last 10, 12 years, for example, in Britain,
the police services or intelligence services have some amazing record in identifying some of these issues and problems, and got (INAUDIBLE) but this
keep that out, and that means all the public be vigilant, and being alert. Anything they're not sure about to come out and to contact the police, and
they will do their best then.
AMANPOUR: Afzal Khan, thank you so much indeed for joining us. Former Lord Mayor of Manchester, thank you very much.
KHAN: Thank you.
AMANPOUR: And we will be back with much more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:22:14] AMANPOUR: Welcome back. And of course, condolences continue to pour in from around the world. Now, in the meantime, so, too, the
investigation continues. We know the police here have named the person carrying that IED, the person who was killed as well, as 22-year-old Salman
Abedi but we don't know much more about him as of yet. We know that there's been at least one arrest. Let's go straight to Downing Street
where Nic Robertson is standing by. And the Prime Minister has obviously been sharing her security cabinet as well, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And that's right. She had that COBRA meeting earlier in the morning, Christiane, before she went
up to Manchester. She arrived back here, I would say about 15 or 20 minutes ago. She didn't come in through the front door as she so often
does. She came in through a backdoor but you could hear a cheer come from the street, which is relatively unusual. That cheer some people clearly
seen the prime minister and we're cheering. So, I think this speaks to the resolve that we heard from the prime minister this morning about the
terrorist will not win and justice will be brought to them, and the absolute revulsion that everyone in this nation shares about the heinous
nature of this particular attack.
We have standing here in the last couple of minutes seen some of the cabinet ministers gathering for the COBRA meeting this evening.
Intelligence chiefs, defense chiefs, security chiefs, leading cabinets members, Amber Rudd, the home secretary will be here as well. That's to be
expected, of course. Well, and at that meeting, Theresa May will be able to get the latest on the investigation, and begin to give her imprint, if
you will, over how she would like this to be tackled. We know at the moment that they don't plan to raise the threat level. We'll get the new
information that will cause the police to change their minds on that. As far as the investigation goes, two premises raided in Manchester. One
arrest -- one of those premises belonged to Salman Abedi, or at least, that's where he lived we're told. The police used a controlled explosion
to get in there, detonating explosives to get inside that building.
Again, what they found in there, we don't know. Key in their inquiry, of course, is, was he acting alone? Sources so far in the counterterrorism
operations involved in this investigation say that they haven't uncovered a link between him and a terrorist organization. ISIS claimed he is one of
their foot soldiers. They have not backed that up with any evidence, but it will be key for the police to know was he acting alone, what type of
explosives were used, and how did he manage to get his hands on a bomb or make a bomb? Those are going to be the really pressing issues. Maybe this
evening, the prime minister will begin to get some indications that there's some leads developing for the police here, Christiane.
AMANPOUR: Indeed. And everybody obviously is waiting on tenterhooks to know more about this killer and about who may have helped him or not, to
know exactly how these things unfold and how they can be prevented. Nic, thank you.
[14:25:05] And as I said, reaction has been pouring in from around the world. We just heard the beginning from Emmanuel Macron, the President of
France and his statement. And also, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel weighed in earlier this morning in the aftermath of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): With shock and sorrow, I have followed the reports from Manchester. It is inconceivable
that someone uses a cheerful pop concert to kill so many young people and cause serious injuries to them. My deep sympathies are with the victims
and affected as well as the relatives in their grief and desperation. This suspected terrorist attack will only strengthen our resolve to continue to
work together with our British friends against those who plan and carry out such inhumane deeds. I assure the people of Britain, Germany stands by
your side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: A strong message of solidarity and support from a leader who also has experienced terrorist attacks. Now, Peter Altmaier is the
chancellor's chief of staff. He's also the Federal German Minister of Special Affairs, and he joins me now from Berlin. Mr. Altmaier, firstly,
thank you for joining me on this very somber day. Just give me a little more sense of how the German capital, how the chancellor is reacting to
this, beyond the obvious public message of condolence because this is, you know, yet another, in a long list of attacks that have been coursing across
Europe.
PETER ALTMAIER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR'S CHIEF OF STAFF AND FEDERAL MINISTER FOR SPECIAL AFFAIRS: Yes, the news of this terrorist attack arrived very early
this morning, and almost everybody was shocked. The chancellor has expressed the feelings of millions of German people. It has increased
sympathy between the Great Britain and Germany. We have a longstanding trustful cooperation with British Police and intelligence. And that is
even more important. It is a lesson to be learned, and the lesson means that terrorism is international, and we have to fight it by international
cooperation, by international action, and this is, I think, the lesson we have learned from this horrific attack.
AMANPOUR: So, yes, those are the correct words and those are the correct intentions, but the question is how? And is the world going to have to get
used to this, you know, sort of new form of terrorism that we've seen since ISIS for the last several years? People who are (INAUDIBLE) people who act
alone -
ALTMAIER: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I can't understand -- sorry, I can't understand your question. Apparently, there are problems on the line, the
telephone line. Can you please repeat it?
AMANPOUR: OK. I can repeat it. Beyond the words of solidarity and intentions, how does Europe combat this kind of form of terrorism that's
mutating right now?
ALTMAIER: We have been - Europe strengthened over the last couple of years. Our police and intelligence cooperation, both bilaterally between
countries concerned like the U.K. and France. But we have to do more, we have to increase the interoperability of databases. We have to know when
suspects in one country are plotting terrorist attacks in another country. We have to keep each other informed, we have to think about necessary
regulations. This is one point. And the second point that goes beyond Europe is how can we embrace the role of NATO in the fight against
terrorism, how can we increase our fight against ISIL, and the upcoming meetings, the G7 meetings, the G20 meeting, and the NATO summit, will give
us an opportunity to have a very informal, but very substantial exchange between the new American President, Mr. Trump, and his European colleagues.
AMANPOUR: And that was going to be my next question, President Trump today said after offering condolences and condemning the attack, that it was
interesting that this happened right at the time that he was having these meetings in the Middle East, and then meeting with you all in Europe to
discuss defeating terrorism and its ideology. Do you think Europe and President Trump will be totally on the same page now?
ALTMAIER: Europe has - Europe has discussed all these problems for many, many years already. And what we have to do is to make the argument in
favor of our Western model of democracy, freedom and living and, at the same time, we have to enforce our cooperation on all fields.
This is a twofold approach. We need it. And what we have seen apparently in the U.K. is, we have homegrown terrorism as well as terrorism that can
be imported. That means we have to take seriously all kinds of terrorism.
In Germany, we have suffered a very devastating terrorist attack last December. But we have been able to prevent numbers of terrorist attacks in
the past. And this is very encouraging. What we have to do is we have to be very clear and we have to be very resource (sic) and we have to
demonstrate it publicly to everybody inside and outside Europe.
AMANPOUR: Mr. Altmaier, just very briefly, I want to ask you, you talked very importantly about collaboration on intelligence and security.
What happens after Brexit?
Let's say there's a situation that requires collaboration.
Is that effective (ph) for Britain after Brexit?
ALTMAIER: Well, we in Germany -- and I'm speaking really on behalf of the vast majority of the people -- we have regretted that decision by the
British people. But, of course, we have to respect it. And that means now that we have, on the one hand, to improve and to accelerate our bilateral
cooperation amongst the most important partners. We are cooperating with the U.S. as well.
The U.S. are not a member of the European Union and we are cooperating with Switzerland, for example. But I would say it is of enormous importance to
continue a close cooperation with the United Kingdom in matters like counterterrorism as well.
There are 3 million continental European people in the United Kingdom and several hundred thousand British people in continental Europe. And that
means we have a vital interest in keeping intact that cooperation.
I cannot predict how the negotiations will end in two years' time but we have to enforce it now already. We cannot wait until we have concluded our
agreement about our future relationship.
AMANPOUR: Peter Altmaier, chief of staff to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, thanks so much for joining us on this day from Berlin.
And when we come back, we will be joined by Mayor Andy Burnham of Manchester. That's after a short break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
AMANPOUR: Prayers there from the Anglican community here in Manchester, paying tribute to the 22 people who were killed in last night's terrorist
attack at the Manchester Arena and also, of course, remembering the 60 people who remain, many of them, in critical condition, some according to
the prime minister, in life-threatening condition in hospitals.
We know that the police have named 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the person who was carrying the IED, the person who was killed but the coroner here
hasn't officially confirmed that identity. We also know that ISIS is claiming responsibility. But we have no idea whether that is just their
public relations or whether there was indeed a bigger network around this Salman Abedi.
Now this here is exclusive footage from a few hours ago of the moment that armed police in this city stormed Abedi's house.
And meanwhile, tributes are pouring in for the three victims who've been named so far: they are an 8-year-old girl, Saffie Rose Roussos; an 18-
year-old girl, Georgina Callander and a 28-year-old young man, John Atkinson.
And joining me now from, I believe, Albert Square, where the vigil was held just an hour ago is the mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.
Mayor, thank you for joining us on this truly terrible day for your city.
What do you think you were able to tell the city, to be able to give them at the vigil not so long ago?
ANDY BURNHAM, MAYOR OF MANCHESTER: Mostly, we held the vigil here tonight to give the city of Manchester a chance to come together, to be together,
to reflect on what's happened.
It's hard to make sense of it. We're still numb with shock, to be honest, and raw with grief. This was an unspeakable act of evil that defies any
explanation.
But tonight, you saw the best of the people here. Last night, in the midst of the panic, people here were offering rooms to strangers. They were
driving people away from danger. That's the true spirit of the people of Manchester.
And it's come through in the last 24 hours. And in the end, it's that togetherness that is the best answer to what we saw last night.
AMANPOUR: Mr. Mayor, can you tell us any more about the alleged perpetrator, the man who was found dead, having carried the IED?
Do you know any more about what that IED was, how it was being carried, who he is?
BURNHAM: No, I can't say any more about that. Of course, this is still an ongoing police investigation.
What I can say, though, in a broader sense, is that this individual was an extremist. This individual does not represent the Muslim community. This
individual does not speak for anybody here in Greater Manchester. And he no more represents the Muslim communities of Greater Manchester than the
person who killed my friend, Jo Cox, represented the white British community.
These are extremists and I think it's very important that people talk about them in that way.
AMANPOUR: Therefore, Mr. Mayor, how do you combat this extremism?
Because it's popping up in various cities around Europe, in Turkey, in St. Petersburg, in cities across our region with alarming frequency now.
How does one combat this?
BURNHAM: Well, of course, it's very, very difficult. There is no easy answer. I wish I could come on and give you an easy answer tonight. Of
course, we have to have international cooperation.
So even after Brexit, it's very important that the U.K. continues to work with countries across Europe, ensuring that information is shared and that
we collaborate to ensure that these people cannot inflict the harm and the damage that they've done here in the last 24 hours. But in the end --
[14:40:00]
BURNHAM: -- you know, the answer isn't to ramp up the rhetoric, as we hear sometimes from politicians around the world. In the end, this is the
answer for people, to come together and say this is -- these are our values.
And, in the end, that, I think, is the best answer. Terrorists want to divide us. Greater Manchester has sent a message back tonight: you will
never do that here.
AMANPOUR: Let me put it in that kind of historical context then, because terrorism has struck Manchester before; it was in 1996; it was an IRA bomb
at your major shopping center in town. Fortunately, people were not killed but there were a lot of injuries.
And during the IRA period, it was almost inevitable that there were going to be these regular attacks.
Is that what our cities have to expect today?
I mean, on the one hand, the police have stopped so many of them but some are inevitably going to get through.
BURNHAM: Well, we are very lucky here in the U.K. We have outstanding security services, who have foiled many plots. And of course, there is, as
you say, a long history of dealing with terrorism, going back to the 1970s and the 1980s.
This city was the subject of a -- the largest bomb ever to explode in mainland Britain since the Second World War, the IRA bomb here 20 years
ago.
But the very next day, Greater Manchester got straight back to business. And you've seen that here again tonight. People have come out; they've
sent a very clear message, that we will not let the people who want to divide us do that. And we'll stay strong together.
AMANPOUR: And I know you have to run but I want to ask you one question about security at arenas like this.
Is there anything the city has to do to step up security?
BURNHAM: Well, that is a question that we are thinking about now. Greater Manchester is always full of people. This square is always used; almost
every night of the week something is happening here. And we've got some major events taking place in the city over the next few days.
The first thing I would say is we don't want to cancel those events. We will not be bowed in that way by these terrorists.
But I think what happened at this particular event last night, I think, uniquely, it seems to me, it's a terrorist attack as people were leaving a
venue. And there is an issue there about how we look at security when people leave a venue. Sometimes they just want people to move through and
get home and get on the public transport and that's understandable. And we don't often have the same security on leaving the venue as we do as people
enter.
But maybe that's something we need to look at, to ensure that that security is there, both at the start of events and at the end as well.
AMANPOUR: Mayor Andy Burnham, thank you so much indeed for your time.
Of course, this is not just something that struck Britain but so many people around the world as well. Now there were many eyewitnesses to what
happened last night. Some of them told CNN what they saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) and then we left. I said, let's go for the tram. And then as we walked out the foyer, the main doors, we was
walking and then we heard the big, massive explosion right behind us. And it was like a big flash of light, all bits and fire like sprayed at us.
So my first things it was to run. And I grabbed Olivia, started running down (INAUDIBLE) street right in front of us bleeding on the floor.
(INAUDIBLE) jump over a woman. And I didn't realize I had been hit then (INAUDIBLE) Olivia.
And then we run as fast as we could down the stairs but everyone was running to get out and could -- I jumped in a taxi and I was like, please,
can you let me in?
And I let three girls get in with me as well. And we shared a taxi.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: What do you remember?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just remember like a massive bang and then there was a lot of people on the floor and blood everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Two young women who themselves suffered minor injuries, talking to CNN just a few hours ago about what happened last night.
We're going to take a short break. Hopefully, when we come back, we'll be able to talk to the bishop of Manchester himself.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
AMANPOUR: Pictures there of the victims of last night's terrible attack; 22 dead, nearly 60 people wounded, some of them with life-threatening
injuries. Today, people came to a vigil just a couple of hours ago in the center of town, led by the bishop of Manchester, David Walker. And he
joins me now from the site of that vigil.
Thank you for joining me, Bishop.
What sense did you get from the crowd who came to hear some words of comfort, to hear some words of rallying, if you like?
DAVID WALKER, BISHOP OF MANCHESTER: Well, just this last night, we saw the worst of what (INAUDIBLE). Today, we've seen the best of this city. We've
seen such a diverse group of people come together, not frightened, not (INAUDIBLE) things their homes but coming out into the center of the city
to simply stand together.
And by standing together, showing that we're stronger than anything the terrorists will be able to throw at us.
AMANPOUR: And I saw, just like you must have done, so many people just walking through the streets with bunches of flowers and people carrying "I
love Manchester" signs.
But as a man of faith, what do you tell parishioners, what do you tell people, what do parents tell their children about this kind of brutal,
depraved attack on children?
WALKER: Well, as a man of faith, the first thing I say is that this sort of act is entirely out with anything that any of the world's faiths would
support or condone. This is the act of a very violent, very tiny minority extremist, sometimes individuals, sometimes very small groups, who speak
for nobody but their own twisted selves.
And so that people of faith, of whatever faith, must not be judged by the acts of the terrorists.
The second thing I say, as a man of faith, is that I believe that, whatever our faith, our God is with us in the darkest moments, just as in the
brightest moments of our lives. And we can turn to God for comfort at this time, knowing that nothing can ever separate us from His love, no matter
how big the blast or how devastating the attack.
AMANPOUR: Now there were many, many people from all the faith communities up on that stage at town hall earlier today, just during the vigil. And,
as I say, people have come together to express their solidarity. Manchester, but it was a long time ago, suffered a terrible terrorist
attack by the IRA.
How does the city knit itself back together?
WALKER: I mean, what was quite amazing 21 years ago when we had the IRA bomb in Manchester was that how the city did rally together. Everybody
came together and rebuilt a better city, a stronger city and a city more vibrant than it had been before.
And that is what I hope and pray we will do again. That is in our blood. That's what being Manchester is about and the people who did it then will
be the people who do it again in 2017.
AMANPOUR: Bishop David Walker, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us --
[14:50:00]
AMANPOUR: -- from Albert Square.
WALKER: Thank you.
AMANPOUR: And we continue to try to figure out more details of who actually was the perpetrator, what were his origins, what were his motives
in terms of, did he belong to anything bigger than just a lone attack?
We go to Nic Robertson, who's standing by outside Number 10 Downing Street.
ROBERTSON: Yes, Christiane, in the last few minutes, we've seen Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary; we've seen Ben Wallace, the securities
minister. Other ministers coming into Number 10 Downing Street for that COBRA security meeting.
And as you say, that is going to be a very important topic of conversation: was he acting alone?
ISIS says he was one of theirs; a footsoldier, they say. They've offered no evidence.
According to sources that are close to the investigation, counterterrorism sources, they say that, so far, they have uncovered nothing to say that
Salman Abedi, this 22-year-old man the police have named as being the attacker, to link him to an international terrorist organization.
They have gone into the place that he was living. They did use explosives to blow down the door to gain entry there. They will have been able to
seize certain of his possessions: computers, telephones, a key in understanding who he might have been communicating with.
In terms of, you know, trying to analyze this through what we have seen with recent and previous attacks and plotting, about 75 percent generally
in Europe are connected in some way to terrorist organizations like ISIS, either through direct communication face-to-face, either inspirational
electronically or perhaps having been to Iraq or Syria and received training.
So the likelihood is that others may have been involved. And this is the most pressing thing at this meeting here. Some of the others that will be
involved here include people like the transport minister.
Why?
Because a part of the determination going forward would be, how do you treat security at transport hubs?
We know that the train station was very, very close to the scene of this attack. So there are many, many issues that Theresa May will have to look
at. This weekend will be the FA Cup final, a major sporting event annually in Britain. Thousands upon thousands of people will gather at
Wembley Stadium.
What additional security measures will be required there?
Maybe none. But the answers to that will come from the meeting tonight -- Christiane.
AMANPOUR: Nic, thank you. And of course, you heard the mayor of Manchester say that they may have to look further at that kind of security
in the future.
Now when we come back, we turn away briefly from the horrors of what happened 24 hours ago to imagine the very best of this city, not just what
it's given Great Britain but what it has given the world. That's next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
AMANPOUR: And finally tonight, we imagine this city --
[14:55:00]
AMANPOUR: -- this Manchester, the northern powerhouse, which is one of Britain's largest cities. Its historical importance is matched by its
cultural clout.
The city and its people are of course so much more than what happened here last night. Imagine a city of sound, the birthplace of Oasis, The Smiths,
The Stone Roses, New Order and countless more bands and musicians.
Imagine a city of art and literature, home to landscapes that inspired the visionary L.S. Lowry, who populated Manchester with his famous "matchstick
men," and home to Anthony Burgess, the author of "A Clockwork Orange."
Imagine a city of science and industry. Manchester was the engine of the modern world during the Industrial Revolution and where war hero Alan
Turing helped to build the first modern computers.
Imagine a city of women, Emmeline Pankhurst was born here and it was in Manchester that she began her relentless fight for women's rights to vote
as leader of the Suffragettes. Imagine the city of sport. It's home to world-famous football.
And imagine a city of some tremendous homegrown journalism, the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Guardian" newspaper began as "The Manchester Guardian,"
after all.
When we think of Manchester even today, that is what we remember. And our thoughts remain with all of those who have lost their loved ones and with
all of those who remain in hospital, many of them battling for their lives tonight.
That's it for our program. Thanks for watching. Good night from Manchester.
END
