The Australian Federal Police has been notified that the online editor of the Australian conservative journal Quadrant wrote an opinion piece saying that, "had there been a shred of justice", the Manchester blast would have "detonated in an Ultimo TV studio".

He added that, if such an attack took place, "none of the panel's likely casualties would have represented the slightest reduction in humanity's intelligence, decency, empathy or honesty".

The piece, written by Quadrant's online editor, Roger Franklin, was posted on Tuesday night as coverage continued of the terrorist attack in Manchester that has so far killed 22.

The contentious passage was later amended to begin: "What if that blast had detonated in an Ultimo TV studio?" and it remains on the journal's site, entitled "The Manchester Bomber's ABC Pals".