The Mancunian Way: Uncomfortable but necessary

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At lunchtime today, Sir John Saunders revealed his findings into the death of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi to interested parties and the media. After an inquest, he formally concluded that Abedi died by 'suicide while undertaking a terror attack that murdered 22 innocent victims and injured many others'.

Paul Britton - who reported on the entire 194 days of the public inquiry into the atrocity - says the recording ‘simply serves to fulfil a legal process. Nothing more.’

“One of the darkest chapters in Manchester's history was brought to a close swiftly and concisely,” he writes in this opinion piece - which explains why an inquest into Abedi’s death was necessary and why it has been covered by the media.

Sir John, who presided over the inquiry, ruled that because Abedi died a violent death, an inquest was necessary in law. But he found that a public hearing - which would examine swathes of evidence relating to the bomber’s death - would not be in the public interest.

The details of the atrocity were pored over in intense and often harrowing detail during months of oral evidence at the Manchester Arena public inquiry. Families spoke movingly of their loved ones, sharing insights into their lives. “The inquiry resulted in three huge reports and the hope that stinging criticism and a catalogue of recommendations will lead to real change,” Paul explains.

Why we reported on the inquest

As Paul writes, inquest hearings are fact finding missions to establish who died and where, when and how their death came about. They