Manchester Arena attack conspiracy theorist fails to overturn ruling

Richard Hall's claims were described as "absurd and fantastical"

A man who claims that the Manchester Arena bombing was fake has been denied a chance to challenge a ruling that his theory is "absurd and fantastical".

Richard Hall is being sued by bombing survivors Martin and Eve Hibbert for harassment, misuse of private information and data protection.

The father and daughter suffered life-changing injuries at the Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

Mr Hall has claimed the government had staged the attack.

In a ruling last month, Mr Hibbert and his daughter were successful in a bid for summary judgment - a legal step to decide parts of the case without a trial - on several parts of the case's background.

On Wednesday Mr Hall asked for the go-ahead to challenge the High Court's decision at a remote hearing.

Representing himself, he said: "There seems to be a lack of knowledge within the judiciary about false flag terrorism."

Mr Hall claimed that "Nato countries" had carried out hoax events "to fool the public into thinking they are under attack", adding: "It is very concerning that the judiciary does not seem to be aware of it."

He subsequently claimed the inquiry into the Manchester Arena attack was "corrupt" and that the legal claim against him was "being used for an ulterior political purpose".

"It is the real bomb attack hypothesis that is implausible because the evidence does not point to it," Mr Hall continued.

Judge Richard Davison denied Mr Hall permission to bring an appeal against his previous judgment.

Twenty-two people were killed in the attack on 22 May 2017

He said: "Nothing that you have said amounts to, in my view, an argument that would have a real prospect of success in an appeal."

Mr Hibbert was left with a spinal cord injury and Miss Hibbert faced severe brain damage.

However, Mr Hall claimed that the attack, in which Salman Abedi detonated a homemade rucksack bomb and killed 22 people among the crowd of concert-goers, was faked. He has been accused of visiting the homes and workplaces of those injured in the attack - including Miss Hibbert's home - and recording footage of them.

In his original judgement Judge Davison said: "Suffice it to say that, although his beliefs may be genuinely held, his theory that the Manchester bombing was an operation staged by government agencies in which no-one was genuinely killed or injured is absurd and fantastical and it provides no basis to rebut the conviction."

He said it was "fanciful" to suggest that Abedi did not die and "still more fanciful" to argue the bomber was an intelligence asset.

Mr Hall has 21 days to file a second bid to bring an appeal, which will be considered by a different judge.

The full trial in the Hibberts' claim against Mr Hall is expected in July.

Martin Hibbert was left paralysed from the waist down after the 2017 attack