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The suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, at an Ariana Grande pop concert in Manchester was known to security services but they did not believe he posed an immediate threat, sources said today.

About 59 people were injured when the terrorist detonated an improvised explosive device in a foyer packed with fans and families at the Manchester Arena last night.

Police said the atrocity was carried out by a lone male bomber, who died at the scene. He is not included in the death toll.

Today Theresa May condemned the killer’s “warped and twisted mind”.

In Downing Street, after chairing a Cobra emergency committee, the Prime Minister said: “This attack stands out for its appalling, sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives.”

Manchester Arena explosion aftermath - In pictures 35 show all Manchester Arena explosion aftermath - In pictures 1/35 Stephanie Brodie and mother Lisa Brodie who were inside the foyer when the explosion happened Jeremy Selwyn 2/35 Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images 3/35 Police close to the Manchester Arena the morning after a terrorist attack at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande left 22 dead PA 4/35 Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media in Downing Street Stefan Rousseau/PA 5/35 A police officer moves a floral tribute close to the Manchester Arena PA 6/35 A man embraces a woman and a teenager as he collects them from the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at the Manchester Arena Getty Images 7/35 Police forensic officers investigate the scene of an explosion at Victoria Station Getty Images 8/35 People affected by the deadly terror attack at Manchester Arena look out from a hotel window in Manchester AFP/Getty Images 9/35 Police stand guard at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by Ariana Grande in Manchester AFP/Getty Images 10/35 A flag flies at half-mast from the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Images 11/35 Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester. PA 12/35 Police forensic investigators walk along a bridge linking Victoria Station with the Manchester Arena where a suspected terrorist attack at the end of a concert Ariana Grande PA 13/35 Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester Ben Birchall/PA 14/35 The scene at Manchester Royal Infirmary as the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack rose to 22 with 59 injured PA 15/35 Armed police patrol inside Victoria Station adjacent to Manchester Arena Getty Images 16/35 A flag flies at half-mast from the Treasury Office in London AFP/Getty Images 17/35 Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester PA 18/35 Greater Manchester Police chief constable Ian Hopkins speaks to the media in Manchester where he said that the death toll from the Manchester bomb attack has risen to 22 with 59 injured PA 19/35 Susan Walton and her daughter Katie who attended the pop concert by US star Ariana Grande pose in Mancheste AFP/Getty Images 20/35 Ariana Grande concert attendees leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images 21/35 A police officer escorts people near to Manchester Arena Getty Images 22/35 Police stand guard at the scene of a suspected terrorist attack during a pop concert by Ariana Grande in Manchester AFP/Getty Images 23/35 Tributes left outside St Ann's Church in Manchester PA 24/35 A man embraces a woman and a teenager as he collects them from the Park Inn Hotel where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at the Manchester Arena Getty Images 25/35 People leave Victoria Station adjacent to Manchester Arena Getty Images 26/35 Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last nights explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images 27/35 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the attack in Manchester Reuters 28/35 A Union Flag flies above Victoria Railway Station, close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images 29/35 An ambulance arrives as police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, near the Manchester Arena Getty Images 30/35 Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images 31/35 Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images 32/35 Ariana Grande concert attendees Vikki Baker and her daughter Charlotte, aged 13, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Images 33/35 Home Secretary Amber Rudd arrives for a COBRA meeting in Downing Street Getty Images 34/35 British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon arrives for COBRA meeting at the Cabinet Office on Whitehall Getty Images 35/35 Flags fly at half mast above Downing Street, London, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester PA

General election campaigning has been suspended. Mrs May said police knew the identity of the attacker and were working to establish if he was acting alone or as part of a wider group.

It is thought he had been known to the security services but sources said he was not thought to be an immediate threat.

The Prime Minister vowed to “defeat the ideology that often fuels this violence”, saying: “We struggle to comprehend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed with young children not as a scene to cherish but as an opportunity for carnage.”

Greater Manchester Police today said it had arrested a man, 23, in the south of the city in connection with the attack.

Chief constable Ian Hopkins said: “This has been the most horrific incident we have had to face in Greater Manchester and one that we all hoped we would never see.”

The identity of one victim emerged today as friends paid tribute to Georgina Callander, 18, from Tarleton in Lancashire. Her mother confirmed her death to them.

Shelby Wharton, 17, told the Standard that Miss Callander was “kind and loving”, adding: “We were all praying for her to be found safely.

"Then we were told she had passed away. She was always very open, would talk to everyone. She was so nice. It does not feel real. I just pray for her family.”

Miss Callander, an Ariana Grande “superfan”, met the American singer in 2015 and had her picture taken with her. Posting the image online at the time she told friends: “I can’t believe this happened.”

She had tweeted Grande, 23, on Sunday, writing: “So excited to see you tomorrow.” She is said to have died in hospital with her mother at her bedside.

A relative told the Standard: “The family is very devastated at the moment.”

In London, police deployed extra armed and unarmed officers on the streets.

The attack comes two months after the Westminster atrocity and is the worst since the 7/7 bombings in the capital in 2005, in which 52 people were killed and more than 700 hurt.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said: “We put extra police officers on duty as Londoners started their journeys into work.

“This will continue for as long as it is needed, and the mix of armed and unarmed officers are there to reassure.

"Looking ahead to the weekend — a normal, busy and vibrant weekend in our city — we are working with all those planning events to make sure we are doing all we can.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the Met was reviewing security arrangements in the capital. He added: “Manchester and the rest of Britain will never be cowed by terrorism. Those who want to destroy our way of life and divide us will never succeed.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but supporters of Islamic State celebrated the bombing on social media.

Police were called to reports of an explosion at the 21,000-capacity arena at 10.33pm, moments after Grande, who was unharmed, finished her concert.

Victims described hearing a bang before being thrown by the blast, which scattered nuts and bolts across the floor.

Thousands of young people stampeded for the exits of the sold-out stadium in scenes caught on mobile phone cameras. Some of those injured are thought to have been hurt in the rush.

Witnesses said the scene was “like a war zone”, with bodies strewn across the foyer. Gary Walker, from Leeds, was with his wife in the foyer waiting to pick up his two daughters.

He told the BBC Radio 5 Live: “I was waiting for the kids to come out. We heard the last song, and quite a few people were flooding out and then suddenly there was a massive flash and then a bang and smoke.

“I felt a bit of pain in my foot and my leg. My wife said, ‘I need to lie down’. I lay her down, she’d got a stomach wound and possibly a broken leg.

“I was about three metres from the actual explosion.”

Mr Walker said the blast happened by the door in the foyer and that glass and metal nuts were left on the floor. He said he lay next to his wife for up to an hour until she was stretchered on a table to an ambulance. His two daughters phoned to say they were safe.

Chris Parker, 33, a rough-sleeper, was in the foyer, where he regularly goes to ask for money as crowds head home.

He said: “Everyone was piling out, all happy and everything else. As people were coming out of the glass doors I heard a bang and within a split second I saw a white flash, then smoke and then I heard screaming.

“It knocked me to the floor and then I got up and instead of running away my gut instinct was to run back and try to help.

“There were people lying on the floor everywhere. I saw a little girl ... she had no legs. I wrapped her in one of the merchandise T-shirts and I said ‘where is your mum and daddy?’

She said, ‘My dad is at work, my mum is up there’.” Mr Parker said he also tended to a woman who had serious leg and head injuries. He said: “She passed away in my arms. She was in her sixties and said she had been with her family.

“I haven’t stopped crying. The most shocking part of it is that it was a kids’ concert. There were nuts and bolts all over the floor. People had holes in their backs.”

In the aftermath, taxi drivers turned off their meters and drove people home.

Hotels and locals opened their doors to people stranded in the city centre.

Manchester City football club opened its Etihad stadium to concert-goers and relatives, who gathered to wait for news.

Family members posted pictures online of loved ones who had failed to return home. A cordon remained around the arena today. Manchester Victoria station, which was evacuated last night, remained shut.

The Cobra meeting this morning was chaired by the Prime Minister and attended by intelligence agencies and Scotland Yard’s Mark Rowley, the head of UK counter-terrorism.

It is not thought that the bomber was being actively monitored or that he had displayed signs of being a significant threat.

Sources said a key focus of the investigation was how he had learned to make a bomb. One possibility being examined is that he was trained overseas, possibly in Syria or Iraq, or had received instruction online.

The Muslim Council of Britain called the attack “horrific and criminal”.

The anti-terrorist hotline is 0800 789 321.